One Little Spark
by TheSaxophrenic
Summary: Toby Donato is not your average witch. She's an Electromancer, which means she has the power to control electricity. Starts before Prisoner of Azkaban. Please Read and Review! CHAPTER 14 NEWLY EDITED!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except a saxophone and a computer, which is all I need. Oh, yes, and Toby of course. She's all mine. Yes, Toby is a girl. Her name will be explained later.**

**Author's Note: The time that Harry Potter takes place is going to be different than it is in the books. You'll see why later. This is my first ever fanfic, so please be kind. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Flames will be used to toast marshmallows for s'mores. Thank you.**

_Excerpt from _Magical Beings of the World

_Of all the magical beings that live on this earth, none are quite as powerful or rare as the Electromancer. To witches and wizards like you and me, they look like average Muggles, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Electromancers have the power to harness and manipulate electricity. Normally, an Electromancer cannot get hold of their powers and anyone who crosses their path usually does not live to tell the tale. But take comfort in knowing that an Electromancer who can't control their powers has no choice in the matter. The Electromancer who has learned to control their powers is a whole other thing altogether. In conjunction with their electrical powers, they also have the power to choose what to do with their abilities. Other talents that they possess when able to control their abilities is the power to heal, sense electrical signals (like brain function) in other people, increased intelligence, and of course, electrocute objects. All Electromancers are capable of great things, good or bad. Either way, dealing with an Electromancer is risky business, and should be handled with caution.  
_

"What are you doing here?" questioned the man who had entered the small room that more resembled a prison cell.

Anthony and Elaine Donato whirled around in surprise, not expecting Joe Stein, the man who had kidnapped their 12 year old daughter, Toby, two and a half months earlier, to return to his hideout so soon.

"We're here to take our daughter back. We feel she's been away from home long enough," answered Anthony in his most authoritative voice. He stepped in front of his wife and daughter, wand held out ready to protect his family.

"Oh, I don't think so. See, you're in Vegas, on my turf, and when you're on my turf, I call the shots," said Joe with a dangerous glint in his eye. "Now, I can overlook the fact that you trespassed on my property to undermine my big plans for your precious daughter, that is, if you take me up on a proposition I have for you".

"Oh, yeah? And just what do you propose?" questioned Elaine.

"First, I'd like you two to know that I'm not the monster everyone thinks I am. I can be quite generous and friendly when the situation calls for it. My proposition is that the two of you move here to Las Vegas, near here. Anthony, you'd be free to keep up your apothecary shops that you have in Wisconsin, and Elaine, you can get a job here at the Nevada State Wizards' Bank. In exchange for my generosity, I ask you let me use Toby and her powers for whatever I so choose. She'll be kept quite safe otherwise. I think that's only fair". He gave them an expectant look.

"I don't think so. We're taking Toby, and we're gonna make sure you're never able to commit another crime _ever _again," stated Anthony. Anger and anxiety were welling up inside of him. He wanted to get his family home safely, and get this psychotic crime boss behind bars and let a bunch of dementors have their way with him.

"I really don't think you're quite aware of the situation at hand, my dear Anthony. My assistants are at every entrance of this place, so you're trapped. I could easily kill you right now, but I really think you should consider my offer". The dangerous glint in Joe's eyes lingered, and it was quite obvious he was losing his patience with the parents in front of him.

"We're not leaving Toby here. That's our final answer," Elaine declared with finality in her voice.

"Pity," Joe peered around Anthony and Elaine, "Toby, remember how I told you that even though I've committed some heinous things in my time, I would never harm a child?"

Toby, who until then had been curled in a corner, her hands bound with rubber gloves and plastic tape to make sure her powers were of no threat to Joe and his crew, looked up at Joe, the fear evident in her eyes. She nodded slowly, not sure of what he was going to do next.

"Well, I'm afraid that the parents of said child do not get the same treatment. AVADA KEDAVRA!" And in an instant, Toby's parents fell to the ground in a heap, dead.

"NO!" Toby screamed. The tears were already pouring from her eyes in disbelief.

Joe approached Toby and kneeled in front of her. He took her hands in his, undid her bounds, brought her to her feet and led her out of her cell. When they reached the living room, he sat her on the couch and kneeled in front of her again.

"Toby, now that your parents are dead, I expect your full cooperation now. Can you do that for me?"

Toby's body was wracked with sobs, but she still managed to shake her head defiantly at Joe.

He had finally lost his patience. As he rose to his feet, he grabbed Toby by the shoulders and pulled her up along with him. He brought his face mere centimeters from hers and told her in a hushed tone "If you don't do what I tell you, then I'm going to go to Wisconsin and kill your filthy, Muggle grandparents. And if you still won't cooperate with me, then I'm going to find all your little school friends and kill them as well. After that, just for good measure, I'll kill that headmistress of yours for accepting a freak like you into the school system. Got it?"

Joe's words made something inside of Toby snap. The electricity that she had been able to bend to her will for years now was starting to gather around her hands and arms. Joe screamed in pain as he felt the shock run through his body. His entourage of mindless cronies rushed into the room to see what was going on. They stood in fearful awe of Toby as the lightning bolts around her started to grow in size and intensity. Joe backed away from her in wide eyed horror.

"Toby, you silly girl, I didn't mean what I said. You just calm down now," Joe signaled to his number two man to try and restrain Toby.

He never got the chance. Toby raised her head and opened her eyes. Instead of the usual whiskey brown, they had turned completely black. Before anyone had time to realize what this meant, Toby shot out her lightning bolts at everyone in the room, electrocuting them mercilessly. She wasn't aware of what was going on around her. She wasn't aware of how long she electrocuted those who had kidnapped her and held her captive for almost three months. And when the electricity around her finally dissipated, and emotional and physical exhaustion took over, Toby was not aware that she had collapsed on the ground unconscious.

And that's where the authorities had found them not even a half hour later.


	2. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Toby Donato knew things weren't right anymore. She more than knew it. She felt it. Felt in the way people looked at her. She felt it when she'd walk past someone in the hallway at school and she heard the whispers or one of the younger students practically dived to get out of her way. Everybody was scared of her now, and she hated it.

It was all _his_ fault. _His_ fault for kidnapping her. _His_ fault for holding her against her will for two months. _His_ fault for killing her parents and then threatening to kill everybody else she cared about. She had woken up in the hospital three days after that with both sets of grandparents and the cops to welcome her back and no recollection of what had happened after Joe threatened her. That's when it started. All four of her grandparents had looked at her with a mixture of concern and fear. That's what got her. She knew she must have done something bad for them to look at her like that. The authorities tried to be sensitive and kind, but she saw their fear too. She heard it in their "Don't worry, Ms. Donato, you haven't killed anybody, but all six people who were in the room with you are brain dead". She wanted to throw up when she heard that. She'd done that? Really? The cops told her they weren't going to charge her for this reason and that reason, but she knew it was a crock. They were scared that if they tried to haul her off to jail, she'd do the same thing to them that she did to Joe and his crew. She could sense it. That was one of her abilities after all: sensing electrical signals in other people. They told her they were just going to take everyone off life support because none of them had any family anyway and the hospital really needed the organs and bones and tissue and whatever else doctors and healers needed. That's when she did throw up. Her grandfather had rushed to hold her and comfort her, and Toby wished with everything that she was that it was her father holding her instead, but knew that was never going to happen.

Temporary custody was given to her paternal grandparents. She was grateful for that. While both sets of grandparents were muggles, her dad's parents had been much more accepting of it than her mom's parents had been. Even still, they didn't know what she was going through. Her grandma had urged her to talk to a "professional", but Toby had refused. Talking about what happened just made it more real, and she didn't want to think about it. She couldn't deal with it. The only thing she was able to do for the first few days was sit in her grandparents' guest room and listen to depressing music on her laptop.

After about a week of that, her grandpa had dragged her out of her room and demanded that she at least deal with her father's shops. He said he wanted to look after them while Toby was at school, split the profits with her, and then if she wanted she could take them over when she came of age. Not thinking of a better idea, Toby readily agreed. Her grandfather was certainly qualified. He had been a pharmacist most of his life, and had read her father's potions books when Anthony was home on holiday as a kid, so he had a good idea of what he was doing.

The next day, Toby was still moping around. Out of exasperation Grandma Donato had said "Toby, sweetheart, your grandpa and I hate seeing you like this. Is there anything we could do to bring at least a hint of a smile on your face?"

Toby had thought it over for a minute and then said "Could I get a dog?"

They had been on their way to the Oshkosh Animal Shelter within the hour. Toby wondered if they were so quick to agree because they were afraid she would retaliate if they didn't. But she had pushed the thought out of her mind. She was glad her grandparents had agreed at all. Toby had been ecstatic when she found the little stabyhoun puppy. When the little female looked at Toby with its big eyes, she knew immediately that was the dog for her.

"What are you going to name her?" her grandfather had asked.

Toby looked at the little dog in her arms, thought and then answered "I think I'm going to name her Io."

"Eye-oh? What kind of name is that?"

"It's from Greek mythology. Io was a priestess for Hera and Zeus fell in love with her. When Hera became suspicious, Zeus turned Io into a cow".

Grandpa Donato laughed at that. "Well, her markings do look a bit like a cow's".

The last few weeks of Toby's summer break had actually been quite good. She and Io had been inseparable, and Io was a great companion for her. Her grandfather had surprised her with a hollow body guitar and some instructional videos on how to play. Toby picked up on it quickly, learning the basics in a snap. She even started sketching again. The day she left to start school again, she was almost back to her old self again. She still hadn't talked about what happened, but was healing in her own way.

When Toby actually left for school, she was optimistic that things would be ok there too. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out how she wanted. As soon as she got to the Iowa campus of the Salem Academy of Magic, people were giving her strange looks, which she had expected. She hadn't expected the whispers and people giving her a wide berth wherever she went. It was awful. It had taken her a long time to be accepted as an Electromancer. She worked hard at her classes and tried to be nice to everyone, and had eventually won over most of the school. Now it seemed she was back at square one.

Toby was truly at a loss. Things were different now and it appeared they weren't going to get better anytime soon. As much as she tried to deny it, Toby knew in her heart she didn't belong anymore.

Toby's birthday rolled around on the twenty-fifth of November and she had to spend it alone, except for Io of course. She was playing around on her laptop, researching other magic schools that she could possibly transfer to. The computer started beeping at her, indicating that her grandparents wanted to start a web cam chat with her. It was their way of staying in touch. When their faces came on the screen, she knew immediately that something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"Well, nothing's wrong, per say, it's just that, we were going over your parents' legal documents, and we found something…interesting," her grandma answered with uncertainty.

" 'Interesting'? That doesn't sound good. Just tell me what's going on".

Her grandpa sighed before continuing, "Toby, we found a legal document attached to your parents' will, and it appears that we're not going to be able to be your legal guardians".

Toby visibly blanched at that, "What? Then who is? Not Grandma and Grandpa Saugstead? I don't wanna deal with their Christian 'Oh we love you, but since you practice magic, you're going to Hell' crap that they always dish out. It's no wonder Mom moved out as soon as possible".

"No, no. It's not your other grandparents," he quickly told her, much to her relief.

"Then who is it?" she asked for the second time.

"Molly and Arthur Weasley. Do you know them?"

"Barely". She knew that her mom had met them years ago when she went on a trip to London to research Gringotts security in hopes they could improve it at the bank she worked at. Elaine and Molly had randomly met in Diagon Alley and they had become friends. Toby vaguely remembered visiting them once when she was about 4. She hadn't got a complete handle on her eltromancing abilities at that point and things hadn't gone so well. After that, Toby was left in the care of her grandparents whenever her parents visited them, or she was at school when it didn't matter anyway. Why did her parents appoint them as her guardians?

Her grandma must have been able to read her mind, "It seems your parents wanted a wizarding family to look after you in case anything happened to them, and they felt Molly and Arthur were the best candidates for that."

"Is the document legal?" Toby wasn't exactly sure how to take this. Sure, she felt like an outcast and craved a fresh start, but she didn't know if she wanted to go all the way to England to do it.

"Signed by all parties, witnessed by second parties, and notarized," Grandpa Donato answered.

Toby just stared at the screen with a furrowed brow.

"You're taking this a lot better than we thought you would," her grandma noticed.

"I'm not sure how to take it. I don't feel like I belong here anymore, but I wasn't exactly expecting to be shipped of to England to get a fresh start. How do you two feel about all this?"

Her grandparents looked at each other feeling a bit ashamed at what they were about to say. Her grandpa started first, "Toby, we love you. We always will, but we don't feel like we can be the support you need. You need to be around people who understand what you are and the things you're able to do. You need this. You need to start over."

"Molly and I have been exchanging letters back and forth, and she and Arthur are really excited to have you move in with them. I guess the whole family is excited".

"So you really think I should go, huh?"

"Not that you have much of a choice, but yes, we think you should go".

Toby nodded. Perhaps this was what she needed.

"I think I'm gonna go. I need some time to process all of this".

"We understand. By the way, Happy Birthday. We'll send you all the documents and Molly's letters. She should be sending you one herself soon. Your birthday present is in the mail too".

Toby smiled at her grandparents, "Thanks, guys! Bye!" and she clicked the End Conversation button.

She sat back on her bed trying to process what she just heard. Her parents wanted her to stay with a family she barely knew all the way in a foreign country. The U.K. It seemed so far away. She had read some books on the magic school there, Hogwarts, she believed they called it. It was supposed to be one of the best Wizarding schools in the world, better than the one she was at now. She knew Molly and Arthur had a few kids that were her age, having played with them during her one and only visit, so she would at least know a few people when she went. And they were all excited and willing to accept her into the family. Her heart warmed a bit at that. There was still that nagging fear of change that was eating away at her. She decided to get an outside opinion on the matter, and she knew just who to ask.

**Author's Note: If you want to know what a stabyhoun is, it kinda looks like a small, long haired labrador with white and brown markings. It's the most precious looking thing ever. **


	3. Dr Jack O'Malley

**Disclaimer: If you think I'm J.K. Rowling, you're on crack. Either that or you have really bad eyesight.**

Chapter 2

Toby approached the office of Professor Jack O'Malley, PhD. in magical beings, professor of university level classes at Salem Academy of Magic, and the man who had trained Toby to hone her eletromancing powers from the time she was two. Her parents had come to him asking for help when she was really young. They didn't want her powers to be out of control her whole life and hoped that if he could help, she'd be more accepted. She really hadn't seen him since her kidnapping, and she figured now was as good a time as any to talk to him again.

He must have been expecting her because before she had a chance to knock, he opened his office door, smiling down at her.

"Toby! I've been hoping you'd come and visit me, considering all that's happened," he stepped back to let her into the room and offered her the seat in front of his desk.

"I'd ask you how you've been doing, but I think that's a stupid question".

"Well, things could definitely be better, obviously, but they could definitely be worse. I could still be in Vegas".

Dr. O'Malley's expression darkened at that, "Indeed, but you're here now, aren't you?"

A sad look crossed Toby's face.

"Toby?"

"I miss them," she whispered, then started to cry.

He approached her and pulled her into a hug. "Of course you miss them. I would think something was wrong with you if you didn't, but I don't think your parents would want you dwelling on it for the rest of your life".

He let her go and sat back at his desk.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"Toby, you might find that talking about it helps. Bad things can happen if you repress memories and feelings".

She continued to shake her head. She just wasn't ready yet.

"I know you didn't come here just to tell me you missed your parents, so would you like to tell me why you are here?"

"I'm moving," she stated simply.

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really? Where to?"

"England."

Coughing in surprise, he looked her, dumbfounded. "And may I ask why?"

"I have to move in with my legal guardians. They're a man and a woman named Arthur and Molly Weasley. My parents were friends with them for as long as I can remember. Apparently my parents thought they'd be the best fit to take care of me if something happened to them".

"Oh, yes. I remember your parents mentioning them a few times. All I know about them is that Arthur works for the government. Something about the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department or something. They're you guardians?"

"Grandma and Grandpa found the documents a few weeks ago and just told me about it an hour ago. It still hasn't fully sunk in yet. What do you think?"

"I don't know if it matters what I think. From what I've heard from the other teachers, you're not yourself anymore. Your grades have dropped, you don't talk to anybody. And I know the students are treating you differently."

"They hide whenever I walk by," Toby spat bitterly.

"Exactly. I don't think your place is here anymore. I don't know what your life will be like with the Weasleys, but I know the school over there is top notch. Hogwarts is a better school than here, the headmaster is a genius, and all the teachers really know their stuff. I don't know if you know this, but your kind are more accepted there than here".

"I've read that, yes".

"I think this is just what you need to get back to your old self. Write me while you're there, OK?"

She smiled at him, "I'm sorry I didn't come and see you sooner. It's just that I— "

He held up a hand to silence her, "Don't worry about it. I know things have been difficult for you. You're here now, and that's all that matters".

She nodded. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Toby finally said, "I think I better go. I should catch up on the school work that I haven't been doing".

"Toby, everything is going to be fine. You know what they say, 'Everything is ok in the end. If it's not ok, then it's not the end.' You remember that for me, all right?"

"Yeah, I will".

Two days later came the arrival of a manila envelope from Toby's grandparents. She dumped the contents out on the table she was sitting at for breakfast, and the first thing to slide out was an iTunes gift card, which Toby figured was her birthday present. The gift of music always elated her. She would definitely be using that later. The rest of the contents were her parents legal documents. As expected, she found the piece of paper saying Molly and Arthur were here appointed guardians. Some strange part of her felt relief that it was done good and proper. She also skimmed the will. There wasn't anything in it that she didn't already know about. She was the sole beneficiary of all her parents' money and possessions. She had been a bit surprised by how much money her parents had left her, but it wasn't an issue. Toby noticed another envelope addressed to her. It was from Molly. She rushed out of the dining hall and into the lounge of her dormitory to have a little privacy. Toby practically shredded the envelope and promptly started to read.

_Dear Toby,_

_Arthur and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies about your parents. They were just the loveliest people. Our children just loved them to bits. We all know that this is a difficult time for you, and we know moving here won't make it any easier, but we are so excited to have you live with us. I remember when you visited us, and you didn't have a handle on those powers or yours and you accidentally shocked the twins._

Toby laughed at that. She remembered it too. They had retaliated by turning her toothbrush into a centipede. She shuddered at the memory.

_We hope that you'll enjoy staying with us. We have a room all ready for you. There's plenty of space outside to play Quidditch and for your dog to run around._

_Arthur and I think it's best that you move in with us over the summer. You finish your current year and get anything else in order that you need to. But if you'd like you could stay with us for the Christmas holiday. The children won't be coming home, but you could get yourself acquainted with your new home. We look forward to hearing from you soon!_

_Love,_

_Molly_

When Toby finished reading, she was a bit misty eyed. Molly seemed like a great person. She guessed she had to be to take on the care of a child she barely knew. Toby dug around for a piece of parchment and a pen (Toby hated quills and ink bottles. Pens were so much more convenient), and started writing.

_Molly,_

_I really appreciate your wonderful letter. While I can't fully say that I'm looking forward to moving, your words have taken away most of my reservations about the whole thing. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to take you up on your offer to visit over Christmas. I think I should spend as much time as possible with my family before I move to another country. I think I'll have plenty of time over the summer to get used to things, and also I can meet everyone at once as well. Tell everyone I say hi and that I look forward to meeting all of them. Thank you again for your kindness._

_Sincerely,_

_Toby J. Donato_

She hurried to the owlry and sent the letter off. As she watched the school owl fly away, she realized that she was slowly accepting her current situation. Strangely enough, she was OK with that.

**Please review! I would really appreciate it!**


	4. Departure

**Disclaimer: Just because I'm a poor college student does not mean I'm going out of my way to steal other people's intellectual property to make a profit from it. In other words: NOT MINE!**

**Author's Note: If it feels like it's taking a long time for this story to take off, my apologies. I want Toby's journey as a character to be more important than the fact that she's joining the Harry Potter world.**

**Author's Note 2: Just to make sure there's no confusion, Toby is 13.**

The months after receiving Molly's letter passed quickly and uneventfully for Toby. People still avoided her like the plague, but she didn't care so much anymore. She had exchanged a few letters with Molly. All of them had mostly been Molly asking Toby about things like Io, activities she enjoyed and foods she liked, and Toby would send her answers and ask her own questions about Molly's children, the house, and Hogwarts. She had to admit to herself that she was actually becoming excited about moving to England.

Before Toby knew it, the end of the school year rolled around in mid-May, and Toby was on her way back to Wisconsin on the train. This was something she was not looking forward to. The station is where Joe had snatched her. He had hidden in the shadows and grabbed her and took her away before anyone had realized what happened. Now, stepping onto the platform, Toby felt panic well inside of her. Her heart started to race and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Io started to whine at her feet. She sat down on a nearby bench just as her grandparents came rushing towards her.

"Toby! Toby, are you all right?" Grandma Donato sat down next to her, stroking her hair and trying to calm her down.

"Just give me a minute," she choked out between gasps.

_He's not here. He's six feet in the ground in Nevada. No one is here who wants to hurt you. Just take deep breaths. _She slowly coached her heart and her breathing down to a more manageable rate.

Her grandparents sent each other a worried glance. "Toby?" her grandfather asked tentatively.

She took a deep breath, "I'm OK. Really. Can we go?"

"Sure. I didn't park too far away," her grandpa said.

As they drove home to Oshkosh, Grandpa Donato tried to ease some of the tension in the car.

"So, Toby, let's make a list of all things you need to have done before you leave for London on June 19th."

"Well, let's see. I have to pack my things, apply for a wizard passport and a visa, pack away Mom and Dad's things, make sure Io's things are in order, and sell the house."

"You want to sell the house?"

"I'm not gonna need it all the way in England. If I come back to visit I'll probably be staying with you, and if I move back after graduating I want my own place. I don't think I could live in that house after all that's happened."

Her grandpa nodded. "So, now that you've had some time to think about things, how do you feel about moving?"

"I'm ok with it. I'll miss you guys a lot though," she answered.

"We'll miss you too. How do you think Io feels about moving?"

Toby looked at her dog whose head was in her lap. Io looked up at her with an indifferent look in her eyes, and Toby couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "Honestly, I think that as long as she has food and space to run around, she'll be fine. We'll both be fine."

Toby spent the next three weeks scrambling to get everything set before she took an international portkey to London. So far, she packed away everything in her house that had sentimental value and put it in a personal storage unit, packed her things that she needed for the move, and she'd gotten her passport and visa. The only thing left was her parents' house. It had been on the market now for two weeks, and nobody seemed interested. Toby was hoping that she would at least get an offer before leaving. It didn't seem likely at that point and she was starting to worry.

In the midst of all the stress, Toby was starting to have weird dreams. She couldn't really call them nightmares, but they left her unsettled when she woke up. For example, one night she dreamt that she had witnessed the harvesting of Joe's organs after the healers took him off life support. The healer had looked at her, smiling, and had said "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten these". _What's that supposed to mean?_ she had thought. She blamed it on the stress.

To make matters even more difficult, three days before she was scheduled to leave, she received another letter from Molly saying Arthur won a money drawing from their wizard newspaper and they were going to Egypt the day after she was to arrive there and they would be staying for two weeks. Toby wanted to go. She really did, but she wasn't too keen on going on a "family" vacation with a family that wasn't really hers. There was also the matter of selling the house. It was with a heavy heart that she had to tell Molly she wouldn't be able to go.

It wasn't until another week and a half when Toby finally got an offer for the house. She felt so relieved to not have to worry about it anymore. She had a good four days to relax before leaving.

Before she knew it, it was the day of her departure. She had to get up obscenely early that morning. The portkey was scheduled to leave at 5 in the morning, which was 10 o'clock in the morning Weasley time, as she called it. They would pick her up at the Ministry's portkey station, and then they'd floo back to their house, The Burrow. Toby anxiously double checked to make sure she had everything she needed and she checked that Io was in her pet carrier all set to go. She dressed in her favorite light blue jeans, teal tank top and purple Converse Chuck Taylors and put on her dad's Italian horn necklace for good luck.

They drove to the portkey station in silence. Toby was too lost in thought to say anything anyway. When they got to the portkey Toby would be using to go to London, Grandpa Donato handed Toby her going-away present. A new sketchpad and charcoal.

Toby's eyes filled with tears, "Thanks, Grandpa," and she threw her arms around him.

He hugged her tightly, "I want you to sketch anything and everything, and send us a few of them. We are going to miss you so much".

"I'm gonna miss you too," she let go of her grandpa and turned to say goodbye to her grandma.

"I'm gonna miss you, Grandma".

"And I you. Everything will be fine. You'll be in good hands".

"I know, but I still can't help feeling absolutely terrified".

Grandma Donato smiled down at her, "Of course you're scared. You're scared because you're starting something new, but I promise you, it will all work out".

Toby hugged both of her grandparents one last time. With her duffle bag and Io in tow, she approached the portkey, which was an old, ratty handbag. Toby checked her watch; it was 4:59.

_Well, here goes nothing _she thought as she touched a finger to the broadside of the handbag.

_3…2…1…_

In a flash, she felt a tugging behind her navel, and she was off to start her new life.

**I will once again make a plea for reviews. Last time I checked, this story had 60 hits. That either means 1 person has read this 60 times (which I seriously doubt), 60 people have each read this once, or it's somewhere in the middle. I would love you forever if you'd send me a review.**


	5. Meet the Weasleys

**Disclaimer: I think if I tried to buy the rights to Harry Potter, I'd be in debt all the way to the moon and back. So, for now, it's not mine. I also don't own the snippet of song that Toby sings to calm her nerves.  
**

**Author's Note: We finally get to find out why Toby has a boy's name! Yay!**

"Ooof!" Toby landed with an unceremonious thump on something soft. Upon further inspection, she found that the floor she landed on was enchanted to be squishy. She rose to her feet, dusted herself off, and checked to make sure Io was still all right in her carrier. Suddenly, she was bombarded with a crushing hug from a short, portly woman.

"Tobias Jacobie Donato! You're here at last! Let me get a good look at you," Molly Weasley let go of Toby and held her at arm's length, "Oh, you look so much like your father. You've grown since the last time I saw you!"

"Well, I hope so. I was four the last time you saw me," Toby tried to say lightly, but she was a little uncomfortable with how affectionate Molly, an almost perfect stranger, was being, but she let it go.

"Quite right, dear. Come over here and meet the rest of the family. Now, our two oldest aren't here. Bill works in Egypt and Charlie works in Romania, but everyone else is here," she stood aside, revealing the rest of the Weasley clan, "This is Arthur, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. Ron, if you remember, is closest to your age. You'll be in the same year as he is."

"Hi, guys," she said shyly. She wasn't good with meeting people.

She was a bit surprised when one of the twins (she guessed it was Fred) came up to her and started vigorously shaking her hand, "Tobias is it? Isn't that a boy's name? I can see you're quite obviously a girl, unless there's something Mum and Dad aren't telling us."

The other twin came up to her and grabbed her other hand, "We've heard that you're parents were loaded. Have they left all of it to you? Are you going to share it with your new, loving family?"

"Fred! George! That's totally inappropriate!" Molly shrieked at the twins.

"No, it's ok," Toby looked at the twins, who had such smug looks on their faces she wanted to smack them. She turned to answer Fred first, "First and foremost, I want to be called Toby, not Tobias. Secondly, my parents named me the way they did because when my mom was pregnant with me, the healer told her I was a boy. My parents decided they were going to name me after my grandfathers; Tobias is my mom's dad and Jacoby is my dad's dad. As my mom's pregnancy progressed, they diagnosed my…condition, and realized I was a girl. They were too lazy to change my name, figuring it was just fine for a girl. I'm very proud of my name, and wouldn't change it for anything," she then turned to George, "As far as how much money I have to my name, I'll tell you this much: I have enough to do almost anything, but not enough to do nothing. That answer your question?" She stood staring them down sternly with her arms crossed across her chest. Both twins burst out laughing.

"I think you'll fit in with us just fine," one of them said.

"Even with that harsh, American accent," said his clone.

"And the fact that you don't have red hair".

"Or freckles".

"And you can electrocute things with your mind".

"Quite dodgy if you ask me".

"Indeed."

"Fred, George, that is enough!" shouted Molly.

Arthur took this opportunity to approach Toby. He pulled her into a hug and said, "We're really glad to have you live with us, Toby. We're so sorry about your parents. They were really good friends".

There was an awkward moment when they pulled away from each other, but then Arthur broke it by saying "So, Toby, are you ready for your evaluation?"

Toby shot him a surprised and confused look, "What evaluation?"

"Cornelius Fudge, our Minister for Magic, feels that your abilities should be assessed before you go off to Hogwarts. They said they sent you a letter".

"I never got anything". Great. This wasn't exactly how Toby imagined her arrival.

Arthur's smile faltered, "Well, no matter. Your appointment is in 10 minutes, so we should be going. You can leave your dog and your bag with Molly. This shouldn't take too long".

Arthur led Toby through a maze of twisting and tuning hallways. She noticed a sign above her that read "Level Six: Department of Magical Transportation". They made their way over to a shabby looking elevator and stepped inside. Arthur hit a button to take them down to level 9.

"What exactly are they going to test me on?" Toby inquired.

"I'm not sure. Probably whatever it is that people like you do. Shoot lightning bolts and throw shields and heal and what not".

Toby's eyes widened, "Heal?"

"You can heal, can't you?"

"Well, sort of. My teacher and I were working on it before, well, you know. I can do it, but I pass out when I'm finished. My body just kind of shorts out. We were in the process of working out why, but then everything got messed up". She slid down onto the floor with a downtrodden look on her face. The elevator then made a _Ding! _sound and a voice came over the loudspeaker saying "Level 9: Department of Mysteries".

"This is our floor," Arthur stated. Toby stood from her place on the floor.

"Department of Mysteries? I don't think I'm that much of a mystery," Toby attempted to joke.

Arthur humored her and gave a little chuckle. "The way to get to your testing room is down a flight of stairs that's only accessible through this hallway," he noticed her nervous expression and said, "Just do your best. It'll be fine".

Toby wasn't completely convinced.

She followed Arthur down a long hallway made of dark stone that she thought looked like obsidian. At the end of the hallway was a single, plain door. To the left was the stairwell to get to the tenth floor. As they descended, Toby noticed another sign reading "Courtroom 10".

"Courtroom? Why am I being taken to a courtroom?"

"Don't worry. You're not being tried or anything like that. I guess they just needed the larger space for your testing".

Toby nodded, but still had a bad feeling about the whole thing. She stood in front of the door awaiting to be summoned inside.

"Are you coming in with me?" she asked.

He nodded. She felt a little better, but still felt considerably nervous and was fidgeting terribly. To try and calm herself she started to sing softly.

"It just takes some time, little girl, you're in the middle of the ride. Everything, everything will be just fine. Everything, everything will be all right, all right".

"What song is that?" Arthur asked her.

"Just a muggle song I know," she answered.

Just then the doors swung open, and a tall, thin man came out.

"Ms. Donato, they're ready for you now," and he disappeared back inside.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be".


	6. Evaluation

**Disclaimer: Not mine, and I cry myself to sleep every night because of it.**

Toby took a deep breath and walked into the courtroom, hoping that this "evaluation" would go all right. Taking in her surroundings, she saw a man at the front of the room that she assumed was the Minister talking to the thin man that had let her in. There were bleacher-like seats around the perimeter of the room with witches and wizards sitting on them, waiting for things to start. Arthur gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder and went to sit by and old looking wizard with white hair, a long white beard, and half moon glasses. Toby distantly wondered who the wizard was, but was distracted by the Minister, who had finished whatever it was that he was saying to the thin man, and turned to address the room.

"Quiet everyone! It's time to start the evaluation," he looked down at Toby, "Thank you for coming Ms. Donato. I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. I trust you got our letter?"

"Um, no sir, I didn't. I just found about this," she gestured around the room, "right when I got here."

"Oh, well, the owl delivering it must have gotten lost. No matter, you're here, and that's all that counts."

Toby's eyes widened, "You're lying."

"Pardon me?"

"With all due respect, sir, I'm here to prove I'm in control of my abilities, and sensing certain things in people is one of them. After saying the owl delivering my letter must have gotten lost, your heart starting beating faster and other signals in your body started firing, which means you're lying."

"Very good, Ms. Donato," a man Toby hadn't noticed earlier stepped towards her. He had shoulder length black hair, a hooked nose, and dark, cold eyes.

"Ms. Donato, this is Severus Snape. He's the Potion's Master at Hogwarts and he happens to know quite a bit about your kind. He's also going to administer your test. If we feel you need extra training, Professor Snape will be the one to do it once you start school," explained the Minister

"Nice to meet you, sir," Toby said.

Professor Snape didn't acknowledge her greeting. Instead he said, "Ms. Donato, you've proven you can sense lying in another person, but that is only one of your abilities. I want you to gather your lightning and manipulate in a controlled manner".

Immediately, Toby felt the tingle of her electricity gathering at her hands. She had it roll into a glowing blue ball and had it dance around the room before summoning it back to her. She dissipated it with one wave of her hand and gave Professor Snape an expectant look.

"Good, but it needs work. Now I'm going to cast stunning spells at you, and I want you to put a shield up around yourself".

Toby was ready. With a grin on her face, she declared, "Bring it."

And so it went. Professor Snape commanded the ability he wanted her to showcase, and she showcased it. She was a bit rusty, not really having a need to perform any of powers since her abduction, but she got through it with relative ease. Individual shield, multiple person shield, electrical binds, shooting a lightning bolt at a target. Toby had mastered this stuff already. Then Snape brought out a small pocket knife and made a small slash across his right forearm, held it out and commanded, "Heal me".

This was the part Toby had been dreading. Knowing full well this was going to end with her unconscious, but knowing she had to do it anyway, she approached her future Potions professor. She held both of her hands above the cut on his arm and started to concentrate on closing the injury. In an instant, Toby felt the fatigue wash over her along with the pain of her body shorting out, but she continued on. As soon as she was finished, she collapsed to the floor, hearing shouts and gasps before succumbing to the exhaustion.

She woke up a little while after that. Arthur was kneeling next to her with a concerned look on his face.

"Toby, are you all right?"

All she could do was groan in response. With a little help from Arthur, she was able to get to her feet on shaky legs. Everyone had gone back to their seats, and for the first time since she got there, Toby was aware of everyone's eyes boring into her. She looked at Snape, waiting to see if he had anything else for her to do. When he didn't say anything, she turned her gaze to the Minister. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Well, Ms. Donato, I'm very pleased at what just transpired here. You are a very talented young lady. However, it seems that Professor Snape feels that some of your skills need some fine tuning, so he will be resuming your training in September".

That was fine with her. She could still feel the lingering fatigue and wanted to just leave and take a nap.

The Minister stood from his seat and looked at everyone in the room. "I think that concludes this meeting. Have a nice day, everyone," and with that he stepped down and walked out of the courtroom.

"Toby, are you sure you're all right?" Arthur asked her.

"Yeah. I'm just tired. And sore."

"I think it's time we get you home," he said.

"I think that sounds like a great idea."

But before they could leave a man with white blonde hair stepped in front of them. "Now, Arthur, you aren't just going to leave without introducing me to your new ward, now are you? That would just be rude".

With a scowl she never thought could pass the face of Arthur Weasley he said, "Toby, this is Lucius Malfoy. Lucius, this is Toby Donato".

Lucius took Toby's hand and kissed her knuckles, "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Donato. Your powers are quite impressive".

Toby didn't like this Lucius character. She didn't like him one bit. There was a sinister air about him and she forced herself to suppress a shudder. She pulled her hand back and tried to inconspicuously wipe her hand on the back of her shirt.

"Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure meeting you too," she fibbed.

"I hear you're going to be starting at Hogwarts in the same year as my son, Draco. Should the Sorting Hat place you in Slytherin, I'm sure he'd be happy to help you with anything you need".

She didn't know what the Sorting Hat or Slytherin were, but if they were associated with Lucius Malfoy, it couldn't be a good thing.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir," she said. She shot a look to Arthur, hoping the _Get me outta here _message was conveyed.

It was. "Well, Lucius, we should be going. Toby is tired after her evaluation and she still needs to settle herself in at home."

Lucius gave Arthur a curt nod and said to Toby, "Well, my dear, I hope I have the pleasure of seeing you again sometime soon," he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

"Ugh! Who is he? I feel like I need a shower now!" Toby finally let out the shudder she had been holding in.

"He's a man with great influence at the Ministry. And he's done some bad things in the past. You'd do well to avoid him," Arthur advised.

They left the courtroom and headed back to the Department of Magical Transportation on the sixth floor to meet up with the rest of the family. Upon their return and seeing Toby's current state, Molly rushed over to Toby.

"Toby, dear, what happened? You look so pale!" Molly fussed.

"They ran me ragged. I don't want to go into details. Can we please just go?"

"Sure, dear," she turned to where Io and her duffle bag were and she looked back at Toby, "Is that your only bag?"

Toby walked over to her things and slung her duffle over her shoulder and picked up Io's carrier. "Yeah. I enchanted the inside to expand and then cast a feather light charm on it."

She started heading towards the elevator, knowing the fireplaces for flooing were on the eighth floor in the Atrium. She noticed that Ron had caught up and was now walking next to her.

"Don't they put a Trace on underage wizards in America?" he asked.

"Of course they do. I just don't get caught," she answered.

He looked at her, confused.

She sighed, "You know how magic interferes with electricity and that's why magical schools don't have electronic devices in them?"

Ron nodded.

"Well, the electricity I use interferes with certain spells that are cast on me, the Trace being one of them. I can perform underage magic, and the higher-ups never know about it".

"Brilliant! But wouldn't they know because of your wand?"

"I don't use a wand."

"What? How do you manage that?"

"Since I'm a witch, my electricity has magical properties in it, and it functions like the core of a wand, so I'm pretty much my own wand".

"Wicked," she heard both of the twins say behind her.

"Yeah. Good times," she threw sarcastically in their direction.

They made their way to the Atrium, heading over to the nearest fireplace.

"Now, Toby," Molly said, "to get to our house using the Floo Network you need to say 'The Burrow' and speak very clearly. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. We'll see you there," said Molly.

Molly and Arthur left first. Then it was Toby's turn. She grabbed some floo powder, held on tightly to Io and shouted "The Burrow!" and she was on her way.


	7. Bonding with Ginny and Ron

**Disclaimer: I do not make a profit from this. If you think I do and try to sue me, you'll be severely disappointed by my lack of funds.**

When the green flames subsided, Toby stepped out of the fireplace and got her first good look at the Burrow in over 9 years. It was just as small and cramped, yet cozy as she remembered from when she was 4. She saw Molly waving her over at the end of the hallway by the stairs, and Toby hurried over to her.

"Now, Toby, your room is on the third floor next to the bathroom on the right. You have all day to unpack. Dinner is at 5:30."

"Thanks, Molly!" said Toby as she ascended the stairs.

Reaching the third floor, Toby saw that there was one room on the left hand side of the hall and two rooms on the right. She looked in the first room and found the bathroom, which meant the second room was hers. She hesitated in front of the door, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. She was in England, at the Burrow, living with the Weasleys. She took a deep breath, trying to remember that this was the start of a new chapter in her life, and that it was a good thing. Regaining her resolve, she opened the door and peered inside. It wasn't a big room, but it was bright, with a big window that overlooked the backyard. Inside the room there was a twin sized bed in the far left corner by the window, a desk and chair next to the bed, and an armoire and a dresser up against the opposite wall. The floor was pale, worn wood, and the walls were plain white.

The first thing she did was let Io out of her carrier. Her dog grumbled as she stepped out and promptly jumped on the end of the bed. Then Toby threw her duffle onto the other end. She stood in the middle of the room, figuring out how she wanted to personalize her new space.

"This used to be an office for Dad. Mum converted it for you," Toby whirled around to see Ginny standing in the doorway.

"She did a good job. It's a little plain though," Toby gestured for Ginny to come in and sit down. Ginny walked in and sat down on the bed next to Io.

"Your dog is adorable. Where did you get her?" Ginny started scratching Io's ears, much to Io's pleasure.

"A wizard animal shelter. I was surprised to find a dog like her because her breed is really rare, but I guess her previous owners tried their hand at breeding, but found they couldn't handle all the dogs and they were being severely neglected. As soon as she and I locked eyes I knew she was the dog for me."

"She's so sweet," Ginny giggled.

"Yeah. She's a good dog, aren't you , Io?"

Io barked enthusiastically in response, which made both girls laugh.

"I bet she'd be a good test subject for our experiments," said George who was now occupying the doorway with Fred.

Toby narrowed her eyes at both of them, "I swear to God, if you two do anything to my dog, I'll rip off your arms and beat you with the sticky ends!"

"No need to get violent, dear Tobias, we would never hurt an innocent animal," consoled Fred with fake innocence.

"That's a lie! Fred used my puffskein as a Bludger once! Needless to say, I don't have it anymore!" Ron was now in her doorway, glaring angrily at Fred.

"What is this, a pow-wow? You two, out!" Toby started pushing Fred and George out of the room and pulling Ron in.

"How come _they_ get to stay and we have to leave?" whined George.

"Because I've decided that the current maximum occupancy of this room is three people and a dog. That makes the two of you two too many, now go! We can hang out later. I promise!" She closed the door and put a locking charm on it. When she turned around, Ron and Ginny were laughing hysterically.

"Am I missing something?" asked Toby, quite confused.

"That was brilliant! Not many people can get a handle on Fred and George," Ginny had to wipe tears from her eyes, she was laughing so hard.

Toby couldn't help but let out a laugh as well, "I didn't want a lot of people in here while I unpack, and Fred and George are a bit much".

Just then, an explosion rang out from under them, jostling the floor boards beneath their feet.

"What the heck was that?!" exclaimed Toby.

"Fred and George. Their room is right below yours. They're always making things explode. They're probably letting you know what they think of you kicking them out," Ron explained to her.

"Yeah, well, I'll show them," Toby held out her hands, palms down, towards the floor and cast a silencing charm. They felt the floor shake again, but no sound came.

Ron and Ginny looked at her, wide eyed.

"What?" Toby asked.

"Nothing. It's just that we're not used to seeing someone do wandless magic so easily. Even Hermione can't do that!" declared Ron.

"Who's Hermione?" questioned Toby.

"One of our friends. She's the smartest person in the whole school, probably in the whole world," said Ron.

"Tell me about your other friends."

"Well, there's Harry. He's me best mate. He's the Boy-Who-Lived you know."

"Harry Potter? Isn't he the only person who's ever been able to survive a Killing Curse? He's our age?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah. How old did you think he was?" asked Ginny.

"I had no idea. None of the books I read gave any dates. What's he like?"

Ron and Ginny started chatting away about Philosopher's Stones and a Chamber of Secrets and fighting a basilisk and Qudditch and a whole slew of other things pertaining to Harry Potter. They also started talking about their other friends. About Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas and the Patil twins.

Toby glanced at her duffle. She hadn't started unpacking yet. While Ginny and Ron started talking about Hogwarts and house ghosts and whatnot, she opened her bag and started pulling things out.

"Did you really cast an Internal Luggage Expanding charm on that?" inquired Ron.

"Indeed, I did. Take a look for yourself," Toby said proudly. Ron looked inside to see the plethora of things Toby had packed inside.

"You've got a lot of stuff," he observed.

"Yeah, I know. I think I brought too much. I'm not sure what to do with all of it." All of sudden, an idea dawned on Toby, and she pulled out her laptop and turned it on.

"What's that thing?" questioned Ron. He was looking at her computer like it was going to sprout tentacles and choke him to death.

"It's a computer. I keep all of my music on it, which is why I brought it out. We need some tunes!" Toby brought up iTunes and put it on shuffle. The sounds of Muggle rock and pop music started to float through the room with Toby singing along softly as she unpacked her things.

"This isn't half bad. You like Muggle music?" asked Ron.

"I think music is one of those things where it doesn't matter who makes it. Music is music, and without it, I would cease to exist," she decided to pull out her acoustic guitar and put it on its stand in the far right corner of the room across from the bed.

"You play?" questioned Ginny.

"Mhm. For almost a year".

They enjoyed each other's company in silence for a little while. Ron and Ginny sat listening to Toby's music while she found places for her possessions, just basking in the fact that people actually wanted to be around her. It was nice not having people be scared of her for once. She liked Ron and Ginny. They seemed really cool.

After unpacking the majority of her things, she decided it was time to adorn the walls. She brought out some of her old sketch books and pulled out her best and favorite drawings. As she was going around the room thumb tacking pictures to the wall, Ginny picked up one of the sketch books and started paging through it.

"Did you draw all of these?" Ginny questioned.

"Yup. All personally hand-drawn by yours truly," confirmed Toby.

"They're really good. They're so life-like," Ginny observed.

"Thanks".

Ron grabbed another sketch book to look through. He stopped on one that Toby had actually bothered to add color to.

"What's this of?" he asked.

Toby walked over to him to see which one he was talking about, then answered, "A beach in St. Augustine, Florida at sunrise. Probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. During the summers my dad would have my grandpa take over the shops for a while and he, my mom, and I would go on vacation. After we would get home, they would leave to come here and visit you guys".

"They were really great. We always looked forward to their visits," said Ginny.

"What happened when...well, you know?" Ron looked at Toby, not sure if his question would upset her.

A far off, sad look crossed Toby's eyes and she uttered quietly, "I don't want to talk about it".

Ron nodded and then asked, "Have you talked to anyone about it?"

She shook her head, "No, I haven't".

Ginny stood up and walked over to her "Toby, you should probably talk to someone, it doesn't have to be us. I bet Mum and Dad would be willing to listen".

Toby didn't say anything. She just continued to put her drawings on the wall. Ron and Ginny gave each other a concerned look before a knock came on the door. Toby took down the locking charm that she had placed on the door and opened it. Percy was waiting in the hallway with his hands clasped behind his back in a very haughty manner.

"Mum wants the three of you to know that dinner is almost ready and for you to come down".

She smiled at him, "Thank you, Percy. We'll be down in a minute".

He gave her a curt nod and headed towards the stairs. She closed the door and gave her room a once over. It looked good, but it was missing something. She walked over to the wall and pressed her fingers to an open spot that her pictures weren't occupying and started to concentrate.

"What are you doing?" demanded Ron.

"Giving this room the final touch it needs to make it feel like it's really mine".

As she spoke, a soft, pale orange color started spreading from where her fingers touched the wall and started spreading across the room.

"You have got to teach me how to do that!" cried Ginny.

"I'd be happy to," laughed Toby, "but right now I'm hungry and dinner's ready." The three of them walked out of the room together and headed down to the kitchen. Arthur, Fred, George and Percy were already at the table waiting for Molly put the finishing touches on the delicious smelling meal. When Molly noticed the three of them enter, she beamed at Toby.

"All settled in, then? Dinner's just about ready. Do you like Lancashire Hot Pot?"

"I have no idea what that is, but for future reference, I'll eat anything that doesn't eat me first," she got a deeply contemplative look on her face before adding, "especially alligator!"

Everyone in the room gave her a strange look.

"What? You've never had alligator before? I feel bad for you. It's really good!" She sat down at the table next to Ginny.

"Had fun unpacking?" asked Fred.

She looked at Ron and Ginny, "Yeah. We had a good time".

"We wouldn't know, because _someone _unfairly kicked us out," George snarled.

"I didn't want a lot of people in my room at once, and you two had to go. Sorry if you weren't ok with that," she said imitating their smug smirks.

"You are a mean spirited, obnoxious American!" George shouted.

"Oh, really? You want to know how they pronounce your name in Spanish? 'Whore-hey'. And in Germany it's 'gay-org'. So apparently foreign countries think you're a gay whore. What do you think about that?" Toby thought Molly or Arthur might yell at her for saying that, but when she looked over, Molly and everybody else seemed to be suppressing their laughter. Even George couldn't help himself.

"You're a lot smarter than you look, even for an American," laughed Fred.

"Better than looking smarter than you are," she replied.

"Cheers to that!" said both twins.

They dug into their meal after that. It was one of the best Toby had ever had, and not just the food. The whole big-family-eating-a-big-meal-in-a-country-home vibe made her feel more warm and content than she'd felt in a long time. When they were done eating, Toby headed back to her room to play her guitar. She picked it up off its stand, wondering what to play. The perfect song came to mind and she plucked the strings to the familiar melody and started to sing.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_

_All your life_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

That night, as Toby slept, her dreams were not as peaceful as her day had been. She dreamt she was back at the Ministry. Instead of the Weasley family being there to greet her, Joe and her parents were there, and they looked angry.

_"It's all your fault we're dead!" her parents screamed at her._

_"No. I'm sorry I couldn't save you!" Toby fell to the ground and started crying._

The scene changed. She was back in Vegas reliving her parents' deaths. The scene changed again and she was again witnessing the healers removing Joe's organs, but when she got a better look, it wasn't Joe on the operating table, it was her. The healer looked at her standing over own body with contempt in his eyes.

_"That should have been you, you freak! You couldn't save your parents and now you're trying to forget them by living with a new family!"_

"No!" Toby woke with a start. Her sheets and pillow were soaked with sweat. She brought herself into a sitting position on her bed, her head in her hands.

_Good God. My weird dreams are getting worse.._


	8. Panic Attacks and Coming Clean

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, however much I wish he was. Sigh**

**A/N: This chapter is longer than I usually write, but it's a turning point for Toby, so I think it's important.**

Toby didn't sleep well the rest of the night. She didn't sleep well any night for the next two weeks. She found it to be the most unpleasant thing. On one hand, the day time hours when she was awake were wonderful. She felt like she was fitting in with the Weasleys. She taught Molly how to make some of her favorite dishes (Toby, having Italian blood running through her veins, was quite the cook herself), she was teaching Arthur how to use her computer, much to his delight, and she had even convinced Percy to go on an excursion with her to London to pick up a turntable that transferred music from vinyl records onto a computer after Molly had given her some of her old LPs. That was a great day. Percy was a bit of a stuffed shirt, but once he loosened up, he wasn't completely unpleasant to be around. Then there were the twins and their prankster ways. She had knocked on their door the day she and Percy went to London to invite them along, and a bucket of water dumped out on her from thin air. When Fred opened the door with that smirk on his face, Toby was irked enough to bypass the invitation, but took the joke well enough to say "I guess I can skip the shower I was going to take. Thanks, guys!" They'd also charmed her shampoo to turn her hair magenta. She liked the color so much that when she magic-ed her hair back to its usual brown, she kept a streak on the underside of her hair by her left ear, much to Molly's chagrin. Things went so well during the day, she finally felt like she was _home_.

On the other hand, she had nightmares that were getting more intense and gorier as each night passed. They left her feeling terrified and depressed when she woke up in the mornings. The feeling would fade during the day, and then come back with a vengeance as she fell asleep. It was such a stark dichotomy, it was driving Toby crazy.

One morning close to the end of July, Toby was sitting at her desk researching Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after another bad nightmare when she heard a knock on her door.

"Door's open!" she called.

As the door swung open, she saw the twins strut into her room and sit on her bed.

"Morning, Whore-hey! Morning Fredward! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Toby asked brightly, trying to hide the fact that she was feeling downcast because of her nightmares. They bought it.

"We wanted to see if you wanted to play some Quidditch with us today. We know it's different from your American Quodpot, but we'll teach you to play. If you join, it'll be two against two: you and Ron against me and Fred. What do you say?" George asked her. He and Fred gave her identical looks of hopeful anticipation.

"Ok, one: I already know how Quidditch is played. I happen to be a fan of the Holyhead Harpies, thank you very much, and two: I'm a terrible flier and an even worse athlete, so I think I'll pass on your offer, but thanks anyway".

Fred's face contorted with disappointment, "Oh, my dear Tobias, you break our hearts! You've spent time with everyone except us. You even spent a **whole day** with Percy of all people!" he wrinkled his nose at the thought of his older, more studious brother.

"You keep saying that you'll hang out with us, but you never do. Please come play with us!" George pleaded.

Toby sighed. She hated flying and she was terrified of heights, but she didn't want the twins to know. Looking at them, she decided she'd try compromising.

"I'll tell you what, I'll come outside with you, but I want to draw you two playing. You can show me your stuff and I'll capture your athletic aptitude artistically. Then I'll make us lunch when I'm finished. How does that sound?"

The twins perked up a little at that and George said "It's not quite what we were after, but it'll do. You better not make us look like arses," George warned.

"Look at the drawings around the room. I tend to draw realistically. I promise I won't make you look like idiots unless you act like idiots," she told them truthfully.

That seemed to satisfy them and they got up to head outside. Toby grabbed her sketchpad and a pencil and called for Io to follow. They headed out to the orchard where Ron was waiting for them. Toby plopped herself on the ground with the sketch book in her lap.

"Isn't she playing?" questioned Ron, who looked at Toby quizzically.

"Nope. Not too keen on flying. I'm gonna draw you guys playing instead. Immortally capturing your Quidditch skills on paper. I think that's a fair trade," she answered.

"It would be a fair trade if Ron had Quidditch skills to capture on paper!" taunted Fred. Ron scowled at him.

"Now, Fredward, play nice. This is supposed to be a nice, family bonding moment," her face got mock serious, "don't ruin it".

"Don't call me 'Fredward' and I won't ruin any family bonding moments," retorted Fred, giving her a dirty look.

"Stop calling me 'Tobias' and I'll stop calling you 'Fredward'" she smirked at him, "Can I please draw you three now?"

The boys hopped on their brooms and started flying around the orchard. Since there were only three of them flying, they just hit Bludgers at each other. She did her best to capture each of them perfectly. It took her a few hours to get everything just the way she wanted. When she was finished, she sat watching them, wishing that she wasn't so terrified of flying.

"Done with your portrait of us, are you? Why don't you show it to us then?" George shouted down to her.

"Sorry. I have a policy that I don't show my drawings in a sketchbook until the book is filled. I promise that when the book is done, you'll be the first to see the drawing," Toby called back up to him.

"If you're not going to show us, then grab a broom out of the shed and join us. We promise we'll go easy on you," Fred coaxed.

"Nope. I'm good down here, thanks."

"What was that, Tobias? I'm afraid I couldn't understand you through your accent," Fred and George swooped down by where she was sitting and circled around her, laughing mirthfully as they did so.

Toby was getting irritated, "I'm sorry, Fredward. I'm afraid I can't understand you either. I'm afraid I'm not fluent in retarded," she spat in reply back at him.

The twins shot each other a mischievous glance, and Toby knew she was in trouble. Before she had a chance to react, both twins lifted her onto George's broom, and he shot off. He cupped a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming and catching Molly's attention.

Toby panicked. Not only was her fear of heights taking over, she started flashing back to her kidnapping. Joe had cupped his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming as well. He told her to not make a sound or he'd kill her right there. Back in the present moment, Toby felt the symptoms of a panic attack rise inside of her. Her heart started to race, she started to hyperventilate, and tears started streaming down face. She tried to wriggle free off of George's broom, forgetting how high up they were.

"You'd do well to stop that. It's a long way to fall," he said to her. She could hear the smirk in his voice.

She wrenched her face from George's grasp and started yelling between gasps, "George, put me down! Please! Put me down now!"

George heard the hysterics in her voice and frowned at his twin. He flew down to the ground where Toby collapsed in the fetal position attempting to regulate her breathing and still sobbing. Ron ran for the house calling for Molly. George knelt down beside her and pulled her up into an embrace, trying to calm her down.

"Shh. Calm down, Toby. You're on the ground now, safe and sound. It's all right. Breathe with me. That's a good girl," he said in the most soothing voice he could muster.

Her heart eventually slowed down and her breathing returned to normal. Pulling away from George, she looked up at him.

_He has really pretty blue eyes…oh, what am I thinking?!_

Regaining her composure, she shoved George hard in the chest and he toppled over onto his back.

"What was that for?" he asked, surprised.

She couldn't believe he dared ask that after what just happened, "That was for you, you jerk! I told you I don't like flying! I told you both I didn't want to grab a broom! But did you listen to me? Did you respect my wishes? No! You're so caught up in your own amusement you don't care how it might affect someone else! I hate you both!" and with that, she grabbed her sketchbook and stormed off back towards the house, the tears coming back.

She passed Ron and Molly on the way back to her room, the latter beginning to shriek at Fred and George.

"What did you two do to her?! Just wait until your father hears about this!"

Toby ran straight for her bedroom. Flopping down on the bed, her body was wracked with a new wave of fresh sobs. When they subsided, she grabbed her sketch book and started drawing an animated picture. George was laughing at her and she grabbed his broom and beat him over the head with it. Fred came into the frame and started laughing, and Toby swung his legs out from underneath him. She threw George's broom back to him and skipped out of the frame. The picture looked more cartoonish than she normally drew, but it helped her take out her current frustrations.

_I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this._

Dinner that evening was eaten in awkward silence. Toby stared off in the distance at nothing, lost in her own thoughts while Molly gave the twins angry looks. Arthur tried to broach the subject of what happened earlier.

"I heard there was an incident this morning," he said tentatively.

"Indeed, there was," confirmed Toby, who shot the twins a potent death glare. They were smart enough not to meet her gaze.

"Is it something that needs to be handled?" Arthur asked.

"No. It was already handled," she didn't say another word as she continued to eat.

_And I'll handle it further. I'll get them back. So help me God, I will._

That night she had her worst nightmare to date. She was at the train station back home, and Joe swooped in and grabbed her onto a broom and flew off. He flew past all the highest clouds and into the stratosphere. With an evil, malicious grin, he pushed her off and she fell to the ground where her body splattered. Her parents came and stood over her mangled body, laughing like demons.

"_You got what you deserved. Do you honestly think anyone cares about you after you let your own parents die, after you let him murder us without a second thought?" they both said in unison._

Joe landed near them and strode over. He used the broom to sweep her body onto the train tracks where a steam engine was rushing towards her.

Toby screamed as she jolted from sleep. She shakily sat up in bed and tried to calm herself down.

_It's just a dream Toby, but that's what you tell yourself every night, isn't it?_

Hearing her stomach unexpectedly rumble, she decided to head downstairs and make a midnight snack, completely unaware that she had woken up the occupants of the room directly below hers.

Entering the kitchen, Toby filled a pot with some chicken stock that she had brought from home and started heating it on the stove. From her personal stores she pulled out some orzo noodles, shredded Colby jack cheese and various seasonings.

Hearing a sound from behind her, she whirled around to see the twins standing sheepishly in the kitchen's entranceway. Toby scowled at them.

"What are you doing here?" she asked them, the anger evident in her tone.

"You woke us up," Fred said. He and George had guilty expressions on their faces.

Toby felt a blush creep over her cheeks. Fantastic. They'd heard her having her nightmare.

"Toby, we're really sorry about what happened today. You'd been such a good sport with our other jokes, we didn't think it would be a big deal. We didn't know that you were going to react that way. We're so sorry! You don't really hate us, do you?" Fred and George looked genuinely ashamed of themselves, and Toby smiled in spite of herself.

Sighing she said, "No. I don't really hate you. I was just really, really angry. You two are lucky I can't hold a grudge for that long," looking at the pot of simmering chicken stock, she added, "are you two hungry? I'm making soup".

Their faces gave away their surprise at her quick forgiveness, but they sat at the table anyway. Toby pulled out three bowls from the cabinet and added more stock to the pot. An idea suddenly occurred to Toby and she pulled out a bottle of special hot sauce. Muttering the activating spell quietly, she put a few dashes of it into the stock.

_You guys are in for it, _she thought devilishly.

"What happened earlier anyway? We've never seen someone act like that," George inquired, unaware of what she'd just done.

"I had a panic attack," she replied simply.

Both their brows furrowed in confusion.

"It's an attack of panic. Duh," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

They still looked confused.

"OK, a panic attack is when panic and anxiety take over your brain. You're all wound up, on edge, terrified for the entire length of the attack. Your heart races, you hyperventilate, and you can't think about anything else besides what you're feeling in that moment. It's not exactly the most pleasant thing in the world. I should have told you earlier that I'm terrified of heights, though I don't think that would have made much of a difference". She lowered her gaze and got that far off look in her eyes, thinking about the other reason why she had the attack.

Fred must have seen it in her expression, "That's not all, is it? Something else made you react that way".

She closed her eyes and sighed, "Let's just say I flashbacked to the reason why I'm living in this house with you now".

Understanding spread across their faces, and if they didn't look ashamed before, they sure did now.

"Is that why you're having nightmares?" Fred gave her a knowing glance.

A shocked expression crossed her face as she looked at them with wide eyes.

"We know you're having nightmares. You've actually woken us up the passed few nights," George said.

Toby didn't say anything. Instead, she dished up the soup into the three bowls and handed Fred and George theirs. They dug in enthusiastically. Their feasting was cut short, however, when the effects of Toby's special joke hot sauce started to take effect. Toby looked on with vengeful satisfaction as they had a fit over the intense spiciness of the sauce.

"What the bloody hell did you put in this stuff?!" George demanded.

She dangled the bottle in front of them, "It's a special hot sauce. You say a spell and anyone who eats it has the pleasure of experiencing some of the spiciest peppers known to man, while the spell caster is completely immune. That's what you get for this morning. I think we're even now," she gave them a satisfied smirk.

"Make it stop," Fred whimpered pitifully.

Toby held the bottle in her hand and uttered the counter spell. Relief washed over their faces as they recovered.

"That was evil," George pouted.

"No more so than what you two did," she countered.

"Touché," Fred replied.

"The soup should be safe for you to properly enjoy now, so eat up!"

They ate in silence for a while, when out of nowhere, George started to laugh.

"What?" Toby asked.

"That was a good joke. Not many people are able to pull one over on us," he answered.

"I'm brilliant. What can I say?" declared Toby smugly.

"You didn't answer me earlier when I told you we knew you were having nightmares," Fred said seriously.

"There's nothing to say".

"How can you say that when you're having bad dreams every night and panic attacks during the day? Have you talked to anyone about what happened to you and your parents?" Fred had a concerned look in his eyes.

"No," Toby muttered stubbornly.

"Don't you think maybe you should?" George asked.

"Negative," she said in a nonchalant tone.

For the first time since she arrived, she saw the twins get angry. Fred was the first to speak his mind, "Why are you shutting everyone out? We care about you, Toby. We all do. We all want to help you. Why won't you let us in? Is that how you want to live your life, keeping everyone at arm's length while you torture yourself at night in your dreams?"

She stared at Fred in pure, unadulterated, wide-eyed shock. No one had ever talked to her that way, and she had no idea how to respond.

George reached across the table and took her hand in his. Her heart did a little flip at that. He began slowly, calmly, trying to take down her walls gently.

"Toby, let us help you. Please. I hate seeing you like this. You can't live the way you are now, it's not healthy. I can't promise the nightmares will go away, but I bet you'll feel better if you get that weight off your chest. Let us in".

With the way George was looking at her, and the fact that he was holding her hand, she caved. As they finished their bowls of soup, she told them everything. She told them about her kidnapping, her imprisonment, her parents' deaths, the loss of control of her powers, her treatment at school, and her dreams. When she was finished, she felt the weight of all her stress leave her. She hadn't felt more liberated in her entire life.

The twins were sitting across from her, mulling over what she had just told them.

"Toby, you know what happened wasn't your fault. Some lunatic just decided to kidnap you for his own ends, and then killed your parents without a second thought when they didn't cooperate," Fred tried to press upon her.

"We don't blame you for what you did. The prat deserved it. You did the world a good service," said George.

She looked pensive for a moment, then she said, "I think in my heart of hearts I know what happened wasn't my fault and there was nothing I could have done, but I don't think my subconscious has caught up," they sat in silence for a few moments before Toby asked, "Have you two ever heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?"

"Let me guess. It's a disorder of stress after a traumatic event? Fred said with a smile.

"Heh. Yeah, pretty much. I think I might have a moderate form of it. I think if I swallow my pride and talk about it, it'll get better".

She rose from her seat and cleaned up.

"Well, guys, I think it's time we go back to bed. Thanks for listening to me. It means a lot," she smiled at both of them.

"Oh, no you don't," said Fred with a glint in his eye.

"You're not getting off that easy," added George with the same glint.

"Huh?" Toby asked, confused.

"You're staying with us tonight," George declared.

"We'll protect you from those nasty dreams," Fred told her valiantly.

She shrugged, not feeling like arguing, "Ok".

They headed up to the twins' room. It was the first time Toby had been in it since she arrived. It smelled faintly of gun powder and various other chemicals. Fred and George pushed their beds together making one bed large enough for the three of them. George hopped on first, lying on his back and beckoned Toby to join him. She crawled towards him hesitantly, not certain how they wanted to do this. She snuggled close to him, placing her head on his chest and draping her arm across his stomach. Fred spooned behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. Imagining how they must have looked, Toby giggled.

"Hey, guys, we made a Toby sandwich".

They snorted, "Indeed, we did. Now go to sleep," George commanded.

Toby nodded off quickly, and with the twins' "protection", she slept more peacefully than she had in over a year. If only for that night, all was well.

**A/N 2: I know nothing about PTSD, so I don't know if this is an accurate representation of it. Also, if you're offended by the "not fluent in retarded" comment, just remember that Toby is a 13-year-old who has a tendency to spout off juvenile insults.**


	9. Facing Fears

**Disclaimer: If you've read this far and still think I have rights to Harry Potter, boo you, silly goose. I'm not J.K. Rowling.**

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this posted. I had writer's block after the last chapter, and then I had my wisdom teeth pulled out this passed Friday, so I've been on mind numbing pain medicine for the last few days. Not fun.**

When Toby awoke the next morning, she was still in the same position she had fallen asleep in, feeling well rested and content. She tried to shift slightly due to a fallen asleep arm, but was trapped by the twins still holding her tight in their arms.

"How did you sleep?" George asked her, knowing she had woken.

"Did I wake you up?" she questioned instead of answering him.

"George asked you first," Fred informed her. He nuzzled further into the crook of her neck and mumbled, "You make a good pillow".

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Thanks, Fred. I slept fine, by the way," she tilted her head up and kissed George on the cheek, then turned and did the same to Fred.

"What was that for?" asked Fred. Toby could see the tips of his ears turn pink in a slight blush.

"For being there for me and forcing me to unload all that emotional baggage I'd been holding in for the passed year. I never expected you two pranksters to actually be serious about anything," she answered.

"You're a special case," George told her, "Fred and I are happiest when we can make other people laugh. That's why we pull pranks and tell jokes. Once we realized that you weren't as happy as you trying to lead us to believe, we did what we do best. After the broom incident yesterday morning and hearing you sneak to the kitchen after your bad dream last night, we knew we had to try a different approach. How'd we do?"

"Not bad. I still have a long way to go, but I think I have a good start," she smiled at him. She untangled herself from them and sat up against the headboard. Fred and George moved to sit up with her.

"So, what's the plan for today?" she asked them. A look of contemplation mixed with determination and a bit of mischief suddenly passed over her face.

"We didn't really have a plan, but by that look on your face, you seem to have one," Fred said with an equally mischievous look.

"I had a thought," she stated.

"Uh-oh. We've had thoughts too, and let me tell you, dear Tobias, they can be very dangerous things," Fred told her.

"Take me for a ride on the broom again," she requested.

"And your thoughts are dangerous, indeed," George declared, "after what happened yesterday, why should we take you flying again?"

"Because I'm asking you to. I figure if I willingly do it, I can keep the panic under control".

"And what if you can't? Mum gave us an earful after you'd stormed off," both Fred and George grimaced at the memory.

Sighing, Toby crawled off the bed and stood with her hands on her hips, "I can't be scared forever. I'm sick of the panic attacks, I'm sick of the nightmares, and I'm sick of feeling out of place and sad all the time. I think it's high time I grit my teeth and faced my problems head on," narrowing her eyes at them, she continued, "you two said you wanted to help me. Are you going to, or was it all talk?"

The twins gave each other an apprehensive glance, "You're almost as scary as Mum, you know that?" George said.

Toby smiled, "I'll take that as a compliment. Now, if you two don't mind, I'm gonna go get ready. We fly after breakfast!"

Before she could leave their room, Fred caught her arm.

"Don't breathe a word of what happened last night to anyone," he instructed her.

"Yeah. We have a reputation to keep. Wouldn't want anyone thinking we were sensitive and nice," George added.

"Oh, no. We can't have your insensitive, prankster reputations ruined on account of little ol' me," she rolled her eyes and chuckled, "I won't say anything. I don't think your mom would like it if she knew I slept in your bed last night. My lips are sealed," she made a zippering motion across her lips and headed back up to her room to get dressed.

Toby was ready in a flash. Meeting back up with George and Fred, they headed down to breakfast together.

"The three of you seem to be getting on better than you were last night," remarked Arthur, noticing the tension between Toby and the twins was gone.

"We worked out our little issue. It's all good now," Toby said while she tucked into her eggs and bacon.

"That's nice," Arthur said absently as he read the morning paper.

When Toby was finished eating, she and the twins got up from their seats to go outside.

"Where are you going?" questioned Ron.

"To the orchard for flying lessons," she answered nonchalantly.

Everyone in the kitchen except Fred and George looked up at her with surprise.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Molly.

"I need to do it for personal reasons. It's not open for discussion," she replied curtly. She briskly walked out the back door, Fred and George following closely behind her. As they made their way to the orchard, Toby started to question if this was, indeed, a good idea, but she quickly pushed the thought out of her head.

_No more backing down_, she thought with determination.

"Which one of us do you want to take you on your little test drive?" George asked her, broom in hand.

"I'll let you two duke that one out," she said.

The twins looked at each other, and Toby got the feeling she was missing out on some secret twin code, then Fred declared enthusiastically, "I'll do it! Hop on!" He mounted his broom and gestured for Toby to get on behind him. She swung her leg over his Cleansweep Five broomstick and wrapped her arms securely around his waist.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded, "Let's do this".

Fred nodded back at her and kicked off the ground. Instinctively, Toby held onto him tighter and buried her face into his back.

"Oy! I can't very well fly if you break my ribs!" he shouted over his shoulder at her.

"Sorry!" she loosened her grip on him, but still refused to pull her face away from the back of his shirt.

"If we're doing this so you can kick your fear of heights, you might want to detach your face from my back," he laughed at her.

Toby slowly opened her eyes and surveyed their surroundings. They weren't that high up; Fred was slowly flying a little over the tops of the trees of the orchard. She could see George standing on the ground with his arms crossed and a slightly nervous expression etched on his features. Ron had joined him, watching her and Fred fly around with the same look on his face that George had. She still felt scared at being in the air, but she had made it that far and had no intention of landing on the ground anytime soon.

"You can go higher if you want," she informed Fred.

He nodded and guided the broom to a higher altitude. Toby felt her breath hitch and her stomach drop as they rose. They flew around like that for a while, and Toby could feel her apprehension slowly melt away. She was actually starting to enjoy herself. Realizing that she'd faced one of her greatest fears, she let out a victorious laugh.

Suddenly, without warning, Fred maneuvered his broom into a steep, fast dive. Toby let out a yelp of surprise, but the terror she would normally feel still didn't surface. The best word she could use to describe how she felt was _exhilarated_. With a grin on his face, Fred expertly pulled out of the dive just as they got close to the ground and let Toby off. Her legs were too shaky to stand on, so she lowered herself to the ground and lied on her back trying to slow her racing heart that was beating out of excitement instead of fear for once.

Thinking Toby was lying down because of a panic attack, Ron started shouting at Fred, "What did you do that for? You saw what happened after your little stunt yesterday!"

Toby looked over by where the three boys were standing. Ron looked as if he were ready to tear Fred to pieces, and George still had that concerned look, but the corners of his mouth were turning up into a badly suppressed smile. Toby couldn't help it any longer; she started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Don't listen to him, Fred! That was frickin' awesome! When can I fly solo?" She got up off the ground to see the identical looks of satisfaction on the twins' faces and the dumbstruck look on Ron's.

"I think you've had enough for one day. Come on," Ron told her, guiding her back to the house. He led her up to his room in the attic, and she sat down at his desk. She noticed a small package and an envelope and asked Ron about them.

"That's a present for Harry. His birthday is in two days," Ron told her.

Toby gaped at him in surprise, "Really? Would it be inappropriate for me to give him something too? I could draw something for him."

Ron's face broke out in a grin, "No, it's not inappropriate. I think he'd like that. He lives with his aunt and uncle who are really awful Muggles. They put bars on his window last year! I mean, who puts bars on Harry Potter's window?"

Toby wondered who would put bars on anybody's window. That was just wrong.

"Ron, does Harry know that I live with you? I think it would be weird if I sent him something when he doesn't even know I exist".

"Yeah, he knows. So does Hermione. Actually, the whole school knows. After Mum heard about your parents, she told Dumbledore, the headmaster, that you would be attending Hogwarts this fall. He made an announcement at the end of this year that a transfer student would be coming, and that student is you".

"Did he tell them that I'm an Electromancer?"

"No, but I'd bet everyone heard after your evaluation".

She nodded grimly, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Anyway, it's not important. I think if anyone was going to protest you attending Hogwarts, they would have done it by now," he told her. When she didn't say anything he decided to change the subject, "So what are you going to draw for Harry?"

"I have no idea," she said honestly.

"Well, he loves Quidditch. Maybe you could draw something Quidditch related," he said.

"That's a great idea! Ron, you're the best!" She ran out of his room down to hers and grabbed her sketchbook. She hurried back to Ron's room and sat back at his desk, starting to work on a hand-made card for Harry. The front had a Snitch in the distance that flew into the foreground before bursting open with streamers and confetti and a sign the read "Happy Birthday!". On the inside she wrote him a message saying she hoped he had a nice birthday and she was looking forward to meeting him. Satisfied, she tucked the card away with Ron's. Ron then started teaching her how to play Exploding Snap, and that's how they spent the better part of their afternoon. Toby thought about earlier in the twins' room when she said she was sick of how she'd been feeling since her kidnapping. She decided that maybe the best route to healing fully would be to come clean to all the Weasleys, one at a time.

"Ron, I want to tell you about what happened to me and my parents…"

That evening Toby sat on her bed by her window drawing the view of the backyard, reflecting on the last couple days' events. She had bonded with the twins, got to play a good prank on them, slept through the night without a nightmare, faced her fear of heights, and relayed her tragic past to Ron, who had been supportive and understanding while she told her story. Finishing her sketch, she turned her head to the doorway when she heard footsteps in the hall. George was standing there in his pajamas giving her an almost embarrassed look.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without Fred. What happened? Did he die?" she laughed at him.

"Fred and I don't spend **all **of our time together," he scowled at her, "I was wondering if you were going to stay with us again tonight. You're more than welcome to if you think you need to," the look on his face changed from embarrassed to hopeful.

She thought it over for a moment, then said, "As tempting as that sounds, I think I should try and sleep alone. I don't want to become dependent on anyone to help me sleep".

"Oh," his face fell, and he turned to leave.

"I'm gonna be up for a little while longer, if you want to keep me company," she called to him. The fact that he wasn't with Fred intrigued her. She was curious to see what their differences were when they weren't together. He sat down with her on her bed, giving her guitar a glance.

"I don't think I've yet had the pleasure of hearing you play," he told her.

"You want to?" she asked, always willing to perform for a willing audience.

"Play me a tune, Minstrel!" he ordered her with a smile.

She hopped off the bed and picked up her guitar. Walking over to her laptop, she picked out a song to play along with. It was a live recording of "Every Night" by Paul McCartney. She strummed and sang along to the light melody. When she was finished, she heard applauding behind her. Looking to see who it was, she saw Fred smirking at her.

"Besides sounding like a band of out of tune banshees, that wasn't half bad!" he declared as he sauntered into her room.

"Considering the source of that review, I'm going to discard it," she mock glared at him. She turned back towards George, who to her surprise was giving his twin an irritated glare.

"Are you staying with us tonight?" Fred asked her.

"No, she isn't. She doesn't want to become dependent on us for sleep," George told him, the glare never leaving his face.

"Aw, and I was looking forward to sleeping on my new favorite pillow," he looked genuinely disappointed, "No matter. George, I'll be in our room," and with that, he headed back to their room.

George got up to follow him, "You didn't sound like a bunch of banshees. You were good. I liked that song".

She blushed furiously, "Thanks".

They stood facing each other in an awkward silence for a few moments, then George muttered, "Better get to bed. Night!"

"G'night, George".

He hurried out of her room to join his twin. Toby stood in her room still clutching her guitar with a stupid grin on her face. She just saw one of the things that made Fred and George different.

And she liked what she saw in George.


	10. Life's Ambition

**Disclaimer: Even though I move back to school in a few days and will have to sell my soul to buy my textbooks, it doesn't mean I'm stealing Harry Potter. The rights to that belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers (bastards) Shakes fist**

**A/N: I'd like to take a minute to thank the people who've been really supportive of this story. First and foremost, I'd like to thank my friend, Becky, who has been helping me since day one and should be co-credited, along with my friend Matt, for giving Toby her name. Second, I want to thank my grandmother (though I know she'll never read this) for backing me up 100 on this and always having a proud smile whenever I tell her my story got another hit or another review. And lastly but certainly not least, to stargazer101, who has so kindly reviewed every chapter I've posted. Thank you so much!**

Over the next few nights, Toby managed to sleep through the night by herself without difficulty. Though that was mostly aided by Toby telling her story to Ginny, Percy, and Arthur. All three of them had been so supportive, and Toby was starting to realize how lucky she was that the Weasleys had taken her in. Still needing to tell Molly, Toby had an idea on how to show her gratitude to the Weasley family for their kindness.

Toby decided to get up a little earlier than normal one morning to talk to Molly one on one. Taking special care to be quiet and not wake the whole house up, she quietly crept downstairs to the kitchen where her legal guardian was busy starting breakfast. She could see Molly's lips set in a grim line and there was a furrow in her brow.

Toby approached slowly, "Molly?"

Molly must have jumped three feet in the air, "Toby, dear! You gave me a fright! What are doing up so early?"

"I'm sorry I scared you. I wanted to talk to you about something," she paused before asking, "Is something wrong?"

Molly waved it off, "It's not important right now. What did you want to talk about, dear?"

Toby proceeded to tell Molly about her kidnapping. Even though she had told the story five times already, this telling was probably the hardest. Molly and Toby's mom had been very close friends, and having to tell Molly about how Elaine Donato had died was a trying task. Tears were flowing freely between the two ladies in the kitchen when Toby was finished.

"Your parents died as heroes," Molly told her through sniffles.

"Yeah. They did," Toby smiled sadly.

Molly pulled her into a hug. This time, Toby didn't feel uncomfortable and hugged Molly back.

"Molly, there's something else too," Toby began, not sure if Molly would accept her offer. She took a deep breath and said, "All of you have been so wonderful towards me and have accepted me without question, and I've been trying to think of a good way to tell you how much I appreciate it," she paused to see what Molly would say.

"Oh, dear, seeing how well you're adjusting and getting along with the children is all the thanks I'll ever need," she smiled at Toby with so much warmth, Toby could feel fresh tears threatening to spill over.

"I want you and Arthur to have full access to my money," she blurted out.

Molly looked at her with utter shock written all over her face, "Toby, I can't do that".

"Yes, you can. I've got a _**very **_nice steady income from my dad's shops, and I don't need all that money. If I'm going to truly be part of this family, then I want my family to be able to get the things they need without worrying about it. Clothes, food, school things, whatever you need. Please, it would mean so much to me if you would agree to this," Toby gave Molly the pleading puppy dog look. Within moments, Molly yielded.

"If it will make you feel better, then I'll do it, but I'm not going to go crazy".

Toby nodded, "Sounds fair," she put her hands on Molly's shoulders, "Thank you. This means a lot to me. I feel like I'm finally putting my past behind me".

As they pulled away from each other, Toby noticed something on the kitchen table. When she sat down to take a better look, she saw that it was the morning issue of _The Daily Prophet_. On the front page was a man with wild eyes and equally wild, dark hair, and the headline read:

**Escape from Azkaban!**

"Molly, who is this man?"

"You don't know? I thought everyone knew who Sirius Black was," Percy had entered the kitchen, grabbing a quick glass of juice before getting back to whatever it was he had been doing.

"Not all of your news makes it to American headlines," she replied, "So, who is he?"

"He's a psychopath. He killed twelve Muggles and a wizard with one curse without giving it a second thought," Percy answered darkly. He finished his juice and promptly left the kitchen for his bedroom.

"He was a Death Eater, a supporter of…You-Know-Who," Molly added.

Toby frowned at the picture in front of her. She knew who You-Know-Who was. That bit of news had made the wizard version _USA Today_, and she remembered her parents talking about it.

"How did he escape?"

"No one knows. He's the first one who's ever been able to do it. This has the wizarding world in an uproar!" Molly exclaimed, "Toby, I think it's best if you don't go out unsupervised".

"Why? Psychopaths are crazy, but they're not stupid, and it would be pointless to randomly come after me. Besides, I'd give him a shock he'd never forget!" Toby held up a ball of lightning for emphasis.

Molly let out an empty chuckle, "Even still, he could catch you off-guard, and then what would you do?"

"Round house kick him in the face," she mumbled under her breath.

"Toby, this isn't a time for jokes!" Molly yelled.

"Sorry," though she really wasn't. For whatever reason, her ordeal a year previous made her feel none too concerned about this Sirius Black fellow, but she would honor Molly's request out of respect.

"Oh, Toby, before I forget, a package came for you from your grandparents. It's on the couch in the sitting room," Molly didn't even have to finish her sentence before Toby rushed into the living room and ripped open the large box that was waiting for her. When she peered inside, she gasped excitedly.

"What's this stuff?" Fred and George had come up behind her, and Fred had reached into Toby's box and pulled out a rather large aluminum can.

"Only the best iced tea the U.S.A. has to offer!" Toby told him exuberantly. She turned the can around in his hand, making the AriZona Tea logo more clearly visible.

"Since when does America have good tea?" George glowered at the offensive object in Fred's hand.

"Since that tea came on the market. Don't knock it 'til you try it. It's good stuff. The peach tea is my personal favorite," she pulled out multiple cans of peach tea, green tea, lemon tea, and Arnold Palmers. At the bottom of the box, she saw a letter from her grandpa:

_Toby,_

_Your grandma and I are missing you terribly, and we knew you were probably craving some of your favorite tea, so we sent you this care package. Enjoy! Hope things are going well with Molly and Arthur._

_Love you always,_

_Grandpa and Grandma_

_P.S. Send us a web chat soon! We want to hear from you!_

"Grandma, Grandpa, you rock!" Toby shouted joyously. She turned to the twins with a big smile and said "If you guys want some, go for it. There's plenty to go around!"

If she could have talked to her grandparents right then, she would have, but the time difference between Oshkosh and Ottery St. Catchpole prevented her from doing so. She tried to pass the time until a more decent hour by practicing her guitar and reading school notes that she had gotten from Percy to ensure there weren't any surprises when she started school. Deciding the minutes were ticking away too slowly, she grabbed her sketchbook and headed to the twins' room. The differences between them still piqued her interest, and she wanted to see if she could capture it on paper.

She headed down to their room and knocked, taking special care to step out of the way of any security measures Fred and George may have put up. She heard some mumbling and what seemed like scuffling, and after a few moments Fred opened the door.

"Tobias, old chap! How wonderful to see you!" he said jovially upon seeing her.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Wish I could say the feeling was mutual, Fredward".

"What can I do for you?" the smirk never left his face.

"I want to draw you and George,"

"Again? We know we're devilishly handsome, but this is a bit much". Still smirking.

Toby chuckled at him condescendingly, "About as handsome as twin garden gnomes that just got squished by a troll. But seriously, I want separate portraits of you two. One of you and one of George".

"What do we get for compensation?"

She looked over Fred's shoulder to see George scrambling to hide a few vials of some suspicious looking liquid.

"How 'bout if I don't tell your mom that you've got Erumpet blood in the house?"

The smirk was gone, "How did you—?"

She pointed at George, "He had vials with thick turquoise liquid in them. That's just a big neon sign saying 'Erumpet Blood'!"

"My dear, lovely Tobias, George and I are professionals; we know what we're doing. Besides, we could always tell Mum that you slept in our bed".

"No, you wouldn't. You're butts would still be on the line, and I could always look at your mom and say," she put a pathetic, ashamed face on, " 'Oh, Molly, they offered and I'd had such a bad nightmare. It's the safest I've felt in ages. Please don't be mad at me'. She'd eat it up! I guess I'll just go tell her now".

Fred wasted no time in pulling Toby into the room and quickly shutting the door. Toby smiled in a very self-satisfied way and sat down on George's bed.

"You have to swear that you're not going to say a word of what we're up to in here," George said to her warningly.

Toby put her right hand over her heart and raised her left, "I, Tobias Jacobie Donato, solemnly swear that whatever happens in Fred and George's room, stays in Fred and George's room".

Nodding in satisfaction, they started pulling out potion ingredients from various hiding places and a shrunken cauldron that magic-ed back to its normal size once placed on Fred's desk. They started working as if Toby wasn't there, which was fine with her. She labored on Fred's portrait first, working very hard to get every last freckle in its rightful place. An explosion burst out unexpectedly, covering the twins with soot.

"No wonder it smells like gunpowder in here!" Toby laughed.

"Pipe down over there! Artists should be working and not noticed," Fred scowled at her.

She saluted him and continued drawing. Once she finished with Fred, she started working on George. Looking back and forth between him and Fred, all the physical clues that would tell a person how to tell them apart were extremely subtle, but they were there. Whoever said Fred and George were identical down to the last freckle had obviously not taken the time to study them. It was mostly in the eyes. They both had blue eyes, but what was behind those eyes was not the same. Fred's eyes were like a raging blue fire. They burned with an energy and mischief that seemed to threaten to scorch him from the inside out if he failed to fulfill their promise. George's eyes still shined with the same mischief as Fred's, but they were much more subdued, like warm embers that invited you in to toast yourself up after a romp in the snow. Not to mention George's eyes wrinkled more at the corners when he smiled. Toby wasn't aware of it, but she was taking much more care with George's portrait than she had taken with a picture in a long while.

Putting the finishing touches on the drawing, she looked up to see if they had made any progress on whatever it was that they were concocting.

"What are you guys trying to make?" she inquired with raised eyebrows.

They gave each other a dubious glance, and Toby decided she really needed to learn how to speak twin.

"Why do you want to know?" George countered with his own question.

"I'm curious," she replied.

"To tell you what we're creating would mean having to tell you our life's ambition, and we're not sure someone like you would approve," Fred declared.

"Someone like me? I'd support whatever you wanted to do, and you know it. Now spill," she demanded.

"You really want to know?" Fred asked, the smirk returning.

"Yes," she answered, starting to get annoyed.

"You really, really want to know?"

"Just tell me!"

"Fred and I want to own our own joke shop," George finally revealed.

That bit of information was so anti-climactic to Toby, she just looked at them blankly.

"You seem unimpressed," Fred observed.

"You realize, coming from the two of you, that kind of life ambition doesn't surprise me at all?" she informed them.

"Mum expects us to eventually work for the Ministry like Dad," Fred frowned at the thought.

Toby curled up her nose at the prospect, "I can't see you two doing something so…conventional with your lives. A joke shop seems perfect for you. I'm not your mother, so your career choice has the Toby J. Donato stamp of approval," she gave them a thumbs up and a big cheesy grin.

"Not that we need it, but thanks," George shot her a genuinely grateful smile, and Toby could feel a blush creep over her cheeks.

"Is what you're making for the joke shop?" she asked referring to what was in the cauldron.

"Perhaps. We'll tell you if you show us what you drew," Fred propositioned her with a leer in his eyes.

"You know my policy about my drawings," she reminded him.

"Then I'm afraid we can say no more".

Checking her watch and seeing that it was mid afternoon, which translated into late morning Oshkosh time, she figured now would be a good time to leave.

"Then, my dearest and most favorite-est twins, I bid you a good day," and with that, she sauntered coolly out of their room.

"Hey! You can't just leave like—"

"I said good day!" she waved at them as she ascended the stairs up to her room.

The first thing she did was check if her grandparents were online, and much to her delight they were. Sending them a request to start a webcam chat, she anxiously waited for them to accept.

"Hey! There's my favorite granddaughter!" her grandfather was on her computer screen, smiling brightly at the sight of her.

"Grandpa, I'm your only granddaughter! How are you?"

"I'm fantastic now that I'm talking to you. How've you been? Things going ok there?"

"They couldn't be going better. And I've been drawing like crazy too".

"Glad to hear it. You getting along with everyone?"

"Yup. Everyone's been really great. I feel content here".

"I can see it in your eyes. You look happier".

"Where's Grandma?" Toby was suddenly aware that her grandmother was absent from the webcam chat.

"I'm right here dear," Grandma Donato walked up behind Toby's grandpa and sat down next to him.

"How are things going over there?" her grandma asked.

"Great! Molly and Arthur and all of them have been absolutely awesome".

"I take it you got our package?" her grandpa had a knowing smile.

"Yes, I did. Thank you! I was craving some of my favorite tea from home. You guys are the best!"

"What can we say? We know our granddaughter," her grandparents were laughing at Toby's enthusiasm.

"I miss you guys".

"We miss you too".

"What's going on in here? We heard voices that clearly don't belong to anyone who lives in this house," Fred and George had barged into her room, still upset that she had left them hanging after they tried and failed to one-up her about their concoction.

"I am chatting with my grandparents via webcam," she pointed to a lens built into the laptop.

"You're talking to your grandparents all the way in America through that little thing?" Fred seemed disinclined to believe such a statement.

"Yes," she told them, wishing they would leave.

"So they can see us?" George started waving at the laptop.

"Since you're still standing up, I think they can only see your torsos. Lean down to my level and they'll see your faces, though I don't know why they'd want to".

The twins glared at her but did as she told them.

"Grandma, Grandpa, this is Fred and George, Molly and Arthur's twins".

"Nice to meet you. I'd shake your hands, but the Atlantic Ocean is kind of getting in the way," her grandpa joked.

The twins appreciated the humor, "Not a problem, sir. We'd like you to know we've had to keep a very watchful eye on Toby. Causes a lot of trouble, that one does," Fred proclaimed with what Toby knew was a fake disappointed tone. He was trying to stir up trouble, but she wouldn't have it.

"Oh, really?" she cocked an eyebrow at him, "Who was the one who dumped a bucket of water on my head? Who was the one who charmed my shampoo to turn my hair pink? Who was the one who hijacked me onto their broom, scaring the pants off of me? And you say I cause trouble? That's the pot calling the kettle black!"

Both her grandparents and the twins were laughing hysterically, and she couldn't help but join in.

"You're obviously busy, so we won't keep you. Have fun and behave yourself," warned her grandma.

"Don't worry, guys, I will! Bye!"

"Bye, Toby!"

She clicked the "End Conversation" button and promptly attempted to shoo Fred and George out of her room.

"Nope, not going to happen this time. We told you our life's ambition, now we want to hear yours. It's only fair," the twins had equally obstinate looks on their faces, and Toby knew they weren't going to leave until she gave them an answer.

"I want to rid the world of red-haired twin trouble makers like yourselves," she grated out irritatedly.

They both laughed, "You're going to have to do better than that".

"Honestly? I don't know what I want to do with my life. When I'm done with school I'll probably move back to Oshkosh and see if I'm cut out to run my dad's shops, and if that doesn't pan out, well, I don't know. I guess I could draw portraits for a living until I figure it out. Is that a better answer for you?"

"Much better," they said in unison.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I need some time to myself".

The next morning she was rudely awakened by a persistent knocking on her door. Opening it in a haze of tiredness, she saw Ron standing in the hall looking very worried.

"Get ready. We're leaving for London in a half hour," he instructed her.

"What? Why?" now she was getting worried.

"It's Harry. Apparently he blew up his aunt and ran off and now he's at the Leaky Cauldron in London and Mum wants to make sure he's all right".

_Blew up his aunt?_

"I'll be ready," she told him.

So, she'd be meeting the famous Harry Potter today.

This was going to be interesting, indeed.

**A/N 2: I probably won't be posting for a while because I'm moving back up to school in two days and I have to get everything ready and I have to get settled and all that. But no worries! I'll have the next chapter up ASAP. Promise!**


	11. When Harry Met Toby

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, Home Skillet. It's not mine.**

**A/N: It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. College is kind of kicking my butt right now. I just changed my major, so it's been hectic trying to get that sorted out. Thank you for being patient! As a reward, Ta Da! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

They flooed to the Leaky Cauldron within twenty minutes. Molly made everyone wait downstairs while she fetched Harry from his room.

"What if he doesn't like me?" Toby questioned nervously as she paced back and forth. She hated meeting people for the first time. It always felt so awkward.

"Don't worry about it. Harry's nice to people who are nice to him. You'll be fine," Ginny answered her with an encouraging smile.

"If that's the case, Harry will probably hate her. Have you ever heard how she talks to us?" Fred declared. Toby shot him a death glare and Ginny laughed.

"I have heard how she talks to you, and it seems she's the only one with the talent to stay toe-to-toe with you two," smirked Ginny.

"I'm also the only one who can tell them apart," Toby added. Everyone turned to her with looks of surprise on their faces.

"And how, pray tell, can you tell us apart, dear Tobias?" Fred asked her.

"Besides the fact that you call me 'Tobias' and George doesn't? Well, I'll never let you in on that secret," she stated with a glint in her eye.

Before either of the twins could say anything else, Molly picked just that moment to return to the main floor with Harry in tow. The first thing Toby noticed about him was his bright green eyes. He had shaggy black hair that looked like he hadn't brushed it in ages, and he was roughly as tall as she was. He wasn't what Toby was expecting, but when she imagined a person who had survived a killing curse, someone with a cape and a Superman logo on their chest was what came to mind. Probably not practical in the real world.

"Harry, this is Toby. She moved in with us about a month ago," introduced Molly.

A big grin suddenly broke out on Harry's face, "Oh, you're Toby! Thank you for the birthday card. That was really nice of you. Did you draw that yourself?"

"Yeah. Ron gave me the idea for the Quidditch theme. I'm glad you liked it," she replied.

"You should see some of the other pictures she's drawn," Ron added enthusiastically, "They're brilliant!"

The praise made Toby blush, "Thanks," trying to change the subject so she didn't feel on the spot, she asked Harry, "So, what happened that you ended up here?"

Harry proceeded to tell her and Ron about his Aunt Marge and how she insulted his mother and father, then he lost control of his temper and she inflated like a balloon and floated away. He recounted about how he ran off and got picked up by the Knight Bus and it brought him to London. In Toby's opinion, it was the greatest thing she'd ever heard.

"That's awesome. I think you're my new hero," she said through her laughter.

"Brilliant, mate! And you're not getting in trouble either?" asked Ron.

Harry shook his head.

"That's even better!" exclaimed Toby.

Harry nodded. "So, how did you end up living with Ron?"

Toby's laughter died away. "My parents passed away a little over a year ago. They knew Molly and Arthur and appointed them as my guardians," she said sadly.

Harry nodded understandingly, "My parents passed away too".

They both gave each other a small smile, and a silent understanding passed between them. They knew what it was like to be an orphan.

Trying to lighten the mood Toby asked, "So, who wants to walk around Diagon Alley? I could go for some of Florean Fortescue's ice cream".

"I'm all for that!" Ron said exuberantly.

They started heading for the back of the Leaky Cauldron where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. On the way, Fred and George intercepted them.

"And where do you three think you're going?" asked Fred.

"We're going to wander aimlessly and get ice cream. Would you like to join us?" offered Toby.

"Yeah. We'll go, but don't put anything suspicious in our ice cream!" warned George.

Toby put on a look of feigned innocence, "Why, Whore-hey, I have no idea what you're talking about," she could see looks of confusion coming from Ron and Harry and the _Don't play cute with us _looks coming from the twins, but she just gave everyone a sweet smile and cheerily kept walking towards the back of the pub.

"What was that all about?" asked Ron with a frown on his face.

"Remember when Fred and George hijacked me onto George's broom and I had that panic attack? Well, that night I had a nightmare and went to the kitchen to make something to eat. I guess I woke the twins up because they came downstairs to join me, and in a moment of brilliance, I added joke hot sauce to what I was making. They weren't too happy about that," Toby grinned at the memory.

Ron's mouth hung open in a state of shock, "You pulled a prank on Fred and George?"

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that!" cried Fred who, along with George, had finally caught up.

"Sorry, Fredward, I couldn't resist. Don't worry. I have no intention of making a career out of pulling pranks. You and George are still the kings of that. Now, are we gonna get some ice cream or not?"

Toby turned towards the brick wall that served as the entrance to Diagon Alley, but she couldn't remember the order the bricks were supposed to be tapped in, so Harry did it. The wall pulled away to reveal their destination, and they made their way down the alley to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. They sat at a large table outside, and Mr. Fortescue himself was all too happy to serve them. They placed their orders and started chatting while they waited.

"So, Toby, what house do you think you'll be sorted into?" asked Harry.

"I have no idea. I don't really know anything about any of the houses, just that there are four of them," she answered.

"You'll probably be sorted into Gryffindor. You're a Weasley, that's where we all go," stated George.

"I'm not a Weasley. I'm a Donato living with a bunch of Weasleys, and last time I checked, that makes me a Donato…living with a bunch of Weasleys," she declared.

"No matter, as long as you're not sorted into Slytherin, you'll be fine," said Fred.

Toby furrowed her brow, "What's so bad about Slytherin?" she remembered at her evaluation how Lucius Malfoy mentioned the possibility of being sorted there.

"Are you kidding? They're a bunch of pure-blood loving gits!" Ron exclaimed.

Toby nodded absently, the furrow still in her brow.

"Knut for your thoughts?" questioned George.

"You'd get change back!" laughed Fred.

Toby shot him a mock glare, "Probably not as much if we offered you a Knut for your thoughts. I'd offer you an American penny, which is worth less than a Knut, but I'd still get change back".

"Does this happen often?" inquired Harry.

"Often enough, but I quite enjoy the banter. Keeps life from getting boring. I can't speak for Fredward though," replied Toby.

Fred gave her a dirty look and she burst out laughing.

"Anyway, I was thinking about my evaluation. When I was done Lucius Malfoy came up to me and started chatting me up. He said if I got sorted into Slytherin, his son would help me out with anything I needed. Felt like I needed a shower after he talked to me," Toby curled up her nose and shuddered.

"Lucius Malfoy?" questioned the twins.

"Evaluation?" asked Harry at the same time.

"Does Harry know about my…condition?" Toby asked of the three Weasleys.

"No. Forgot to mention it. Harry, Toby's an Electromancer," Ron said.

"An Electro-what?" Harry questioned, confused.

"It means I can control electricity," to clarify further, Toby manipulated a small lightning ball.

"Brilliant! But why did you have to do an evaluation?"

"I'm guessing to make sure I don't randomly electrocute someone by accident. And probably to make an assessment of where I am in my training. They want me to continue with it when school starts with the potions professor".

Everyone at the table had looks of utter revulsion written on their faces.

"Professor Snape? That greasy git? You have to train with him?" asked Ron incredulously.

"Apparently. He didn't seem like the most pleasant person in the world, and judging from your reactions I take it he isn't," Toby observed.

"He's the head of Slytherin house. How pleasant do you think he could be?" George said.

She didn't answer because Mr. Fortescue returned with their ice cream. Toby's eyes grew wide at the size of hers.

"Holy big sundae, Batman!" she exclaimed.

Ron, Fred and George looked at her like she just sprouted a second head.

"Don't ask," she mumbled.

They dug into their ice cream in silence for a little while. Toby thoroughly enjoyed hers, but it wasn't like home.

"I wonder if Mr. Fortescue knows how to make frozen custard," she mused aloud.

"Frozen custard?" questioned Fred.

"Yes. It's custard. That you freeze. And it's delicious. It's a Wisconsin thing, you wouldn't understand," she told him.

"Oh, wouldn't I? Do _you _know how to make it?" he asked her.

"…No. But I'm sure you don't either! And I can always look it up!"

"So, Toby, how come you don't end up electrocuting yourself?" asked Harry, trying to divert the oncoming verbal sparring between Fred and her.

"I have elevated levels of conductive minerals in my body, like iron and sodium, so there's less resistance and my skin doesn't fry," she explained.

"What else can you do besides make lightning balls?" he continued to question.

"I can put up shields and sense electrical signals in other people".

"What kind of signals?"

"I can sense things like brain function, lying, strong emotions, that kind of thing. It's not easy. Electrical things in the body aren't overly strong, so I have to be focusing on a specific person to know what's going on," explained Toby.

"Aren't you supposed to be able to heal too?" inquired Ron.

She sighed. "Don't remind me. That's the only thing I haven't been able to do well yet".

"How do you heal with electricity?" asked George.

"It's a special current that speeds up the healing process. For whatever reason the current doesn't agree with me, and I pass out," she answered.

"Dad said that at your evaluation it took three wizards using the Ennervate spell to wake you up," Ron said.

Hm. So that's why she had woken up so fast. She had wondered about that.

Just then Toby saw Molly hurry over to them, "Children! There you are! I was wondering where you'd got off to. We're going to be leaving soon".

"Is it ok if I stay? I wanted to talk to Harry a little longer," requested Toby.

"Sure, dear. There's floo powder by the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Be back before dinner. Harry, you're welcome to join us as well".

"How come she gets to stay?" whined Fred.

Toby leaned in by Fred's ear and whispered, "Because she likes me better".

She ran off into the parlor to pay for their ice cream before Fred could say anything else. When she exited, Harry was waiting for her, sans Weasleys. She sat down back down at the table.

"So, Ron told me you're into Quidditch, hence the birthday card. What got you into that?" Toby figured it was her turn to ask Harry a question or two.

"I was asked to fill the Seeker position for the Gryffindor team after I caught a Remembrall during my first flying lesson. Took to it naturally, I guess," he smiled dreamily at the memory. "What about you? You draw really well. When did you start doing that?"

"I was really young. Electromancers who don't have a handle on their powers usually send off shocks of electricity on accident when they don't have an outlet for their energy. That's why people are so weary of us. I started drawing on my own to occupy myself, and it helped until I had a handle on things. My parents didn't complain, so I kept doing it".

"Is it hard to control electricity?"

"Very. I've been training for years, and I still don't have everything figured out. There are only two other Electromancers who have a hold on their abilities. A man in Africa and a woman in China. For them, it was a spiritual thing. The woman in China is trained in various forms of martial arts. I would love to meet her one day".

"Are any other of your kind wizards?"

"Not that I'm aware of".

She could see Harry was hesitating to ask his next question. Wondering what it could be about, it seemed he decided to go for it and asked, "Toby, how did your parents die?"

The words didn't come out as swiftly as she would have liked. She must have looked like an idiot opening and closing her mouth like a fish because she couldn't get the words out to a person she barely knew.

"Sorry! That was really forward of me. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just you're the first person I've met who doesn't have either of their parents, and I was curious," he said it so quickly and looked so sheepish while saying it. Toby let out a little chuckle and felt more at ease.

"No, it's ok. Come on, let's walk," they stood up from the table and started strolling to the Qudditch supply shop.

"When I was twelve I was kidnapped by a crime boss from Las Vagas. He wanted to use me in the crimes he committed," she started.

"That's terrible!"

"There's more. When I refused, he locked me in a small cell in his hideout. He bound my hands with rubber and plastic so I couldn't use my powers. I was there for about two and a half months. Somehow my parents found me and tried to save me, but my kidnapper caught them before we could escape. He tried to entice them to let him use me, but they refused, and he killed them. Right in front of me. Then he told me that if I didn't do what he said, he'd kill everyone else I cared about," she paused there, not sure if she should tell him the rest.

"What happened to him? You must have escaped. I mean, you're here and not there".

She took a deep breath, then said, "Harry, what happened next is a bit graphic, and I'm not proud of it. Are you sure you want to know?"

He nodded after thinking it over a moment. "Yeah. Tell me".

"I don't remember this happening, but from what I've been told, I lost control of myself. There were six people in that room that day, and I electrocuted them all at once until they were brain dead and extra crispy. I passed out and woke up in the hospital a few days later. The healers ended up having to take everyone off life support and used whatever tissues and organs that weren't completely useless. When I went back to school, no one would talk to me. They were afraid of me".

Harry didn't respond for a few minutes. Toby had no idea what he was thinking or what he would say. As the moments ticked by and he still didn't say anything, she started to worry that their conversation was going to end badly.

"My parents were murdered too," he said it so quietly Toby had to strain to hear him over the din of the alley.

She couldn't help feeling relieved that he wasn't going to shun her, "I'm sorry," she said honestly, "How did it happen?"

"Voldemort. He was after me, and my parents died trying to protect me. When he tried to kill me, the curse bounced off of me because of my mother's protection. I was a year old".

Despite the fact that the subject of their conversation was so downcast and they barely knew each other, Toby couldn't help acknowledging that she'd never felt so…_connected_ with another person before. It was so different from feeling disconnected from her peers back home.

"Well, if isn't Potter. And who's this with you? A new girlfriend?" a boy Toby didn't know approached them. His eyes were a cold grey and his hair was such a white blonde, she wondered if he bleached it. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Actually, Harry and I just met today. My name's Toby Donato, and you are?"

The boy's eyes lit up, and a sinister leering grin spread across his lips, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. So you're that Electromancer from America that my father was telling me about?"

"Yeah, I am," so that's why he seemed familiar. He was the son Lucius had mentioned. Toby didn't feel like she could trust him. He had the same sinister air about him that his father did.

"And what is someone of your quality of skill doing with the likes of Potter?" Draco and Harry were glaring daggers at each other, and Toby could sense the extreme dislike crackling between them.

Narrowing her eyes at Draco, she said, "I try to treat every person I meet with dignity and respect until they give me a reason not to. Harry hasn't given me a reason, but you're starting to".

He scowled angrily at her. She stood her ground easily with one of her death glares, daring him with her eyes to say one more word against Harry.

He backed down quickly, "Whatever. I have more important things to do than talk to you anyway," he stalked off past them and disappeared into the crowd.

When Draco was completely out of sight, Harry turned his head to her with a grin.

"I think you may be my new hero. That was brilliant, thought I think I've had enough of Diagon Alley for one day".

"I think I have too. There's a Muggle music store not far from the Leaky Cauldron and they have an electric guitar I want to look at. We could go and have a look and get back to the Burrow before dinner. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea".

As they were making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Toby said, "Hey, Harry?"

"Hm?"

She flashed him a big smile, "You're all right".

He readily returned her smile, and Toby was glad to have finally met someone she could relate to.


	12. Flying Solo

**Disclaimer: The day I own Harry Potter is the day I find the real Weasley twins naked in my dorm room.**

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. College has been eating my free time like an apple.**

**A/N 2: This chapter is more of a filler before Toby goes off to school. Doesn't really move the plot along, but I wanted it in there anyway. :) **

They quickly made their way to the music store, and Toby ended up buying the guitar she went to look at. It was a beautiful red Gretsch six string that sounded amazing. When they were finished there, they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back to the Burrow.

As she stepped out of the fireplace into the living room, Fred and George were sitting on the couch, glowering at her.

"Mum does not like you better than us!" Fred shouted.

Toby just laughed at him, and as soon as Harry came through the fireplace, they headed up to Toby's room so she could put her new guitar on display. Io was lying on the bed and perked up immediately as they walked into the bedroom.

"You have a dog?"

"Mhm. Her name is Io. You can pet her. She's really friendly".

Toby watched Harry sit on the bed and start scratching Io's ear. Toby's dog closed her eyes in pleasure and rested her head on Harry's leg, clearly enjoying the attention.

"Aw. Look at that. She likes you," Toby smiled.

Harry looked around Toby's room admiring her drawings, "Ron was right, you know," he said as Toby took was putting the Gretsch on a guitar stand.

"About what?"

"Your other drawings are really good".

She blushed at his compliment, "Thanks".

Just then, Fred stormed into her room, George not far behind. They both plopped themselves down on the bed next to Harry, with Fred looking indignant.

"I'm not done with you yet, Tobias Jacobie Donato! You can't just go around saying our Mum is fonder of you than she is of us and get away with it!" Fred looked legitimately upset with her, and Toby was starting to feel a little bad about what she said.

"Not to mention you haven't told us how you can tell us apart," added George crossly.

"I'm going to go see what Ron is doing. I don't want to get caught in the middle of this" Harry said, and promptly breezed out of Toby's room.

"Are you really that mad at me?" Toby asked Fred.

He crossed his arms and frowned at her, "Yes, I am".

Toby approached Fred and stood over him as he was still sitting on her bed, cupped his face in her hands, looked him in the eye and said, "Fred Weasley, if what I said upset you that much, I'm sorry. I was just joking around. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings".

"I think that's the first time you've called me Fred instead of Fredward".

"Wrong. I've called you Fred a few times," she reminded him.

He took hold of her wrists, ignoring her statement and smiled, "I'll forgive you on one condition,"

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"If you agree to let us give you your first solo flying lesson," he smirked at her and she suddenly realized she'd been tricked.

"Was this little tiff just a façade to propose a flying lesson? You could have just asked me".

"We could have, but this was so much more fun, and I finally got you to stop calling me Fredward in the process".

Having become very annoyed with Fred at that moment, she tackled him onto his back and proceeded to tickle his ribs mercilessly.

"Say uncle!" she commanded.

"Never!"

"Say it!"

"No! George, help me!"

Toby immediately put up a shield around Fred and her to keep George from getting too close, "Don't even think about it".

George wisely kept his distance from the electrical shield.

"Fred, I'll let you go on one condition," she said.

"Anything!"

"Stop calling me Tobias. I'll permanently stop calling you Fredward. I think that's fair".

"Deal! Now stop tickling me!"

She dissipated the shield and let him up, "Ha! I win!" she said triumphantly, "That'll teach you to trick me! Now, I believe you wanted to give me a flying lesson?"

George rushed to block her doorway, "Tell us how you can tell us apart first, or we're not letting you out of here".

Toby had no intention of divulging to the twins how she could tell Fred from George, so to get George out of her way, she shot a tiny lightning bolt at his foot. Yelping in pain and surprise, he stumbled backwards into the hallway, giving Toby access to make a run for it. She dashed down the hall towards the stairs.

"Hey! You shocked me! I'm going to get you for that!" George shouted at her.

"You'll have to catch me first!" she shouted back. As soon as the words left her mouth, she heard George scrambling after her. Toby ran down the stairs as fast as she could, knowing George wasn't far behind. They bounded down the downstairs hallway, through the kitchen, and out the back door into the yard. Toby could hear George catching up to her, and despite her best efforts to will her legs to run faster, George was soon upon her and tackled her to the ground.

"George, get off of me!" she squealed. She tried to wriggle out from under him, but he was too quick for her and he pinned her arms above her head.

"You shocked me!" he repeated.

"You were in my way," she countered.

George leaned in close to Toby, and she became **very **aware of his close proximity to her.

"George, get away from my face," she said uncomfortably.

"Apologize to me first," he commanded. He was so close to her, their lips were almost touching. Toby's heart started to race and her breath hitched at the thought.

"Apologize to me," he demanded again.

"I could always just shock you again to get you off me," she pointed out.

He smirked at her, "But you won't. I suggest you just say you're sorry, otherwise your punishment is going to just get worse".

"Oh, really? And what do you think you'll manage to do? If you let go of my hands, you know you'll be in trouble".

He narrowed his eyes at her in a glare, not bothering to widen the distance between them. Feeling like his gaze was going to bore right through her, Toby started to squirm under his scrutiny.

"You two have a lot of nerve running off like—what are you two doing?" Fred had finally caught up to them, and at the sound of his voice, George scrambled away from Toby.

"George was trying to get me to apologize for shocking his foot, and failed miserably," Toby explained.

"You were about to crack," George said.

"Was not".

"Was to".

"You fail".

George's jaw dropped in insulted shock "I do not!"

"Do to".

"Do not!"

Fred rolled his eyes at them, "As amusing as this is, can we get this flying lesson started? George, come with me to get the brooms. Toby, you wait for us in the orchard".

"Mind if we watch?" Toby turned around to see that Ron and Harry had come outside to join them.

"No, I don't mind at all. Come on. Fred told me to meet him and George in the orchard".

As they were walking, Harry said, "I can't believe you never learned to fly".

"I can't believe she's trusting Fred and George to teach her to fly," Ron added.

Toby gave them a sideways glance, "From what I've seen, I think Fred and George are perfectly qualified to teach me to fly. As for the whole not learning to fly sooner thing, I was scared of heights. Flying on a broomstick usually doesn't help that much".

As they entered the orchard, Toby saw the twins walking towards them, brooms in hand.

"Ready?" Fred asked her.

"Heck yeah! Let's get this shindig on the road!" Toby said excitedly. George handed her a Shooting Star broom, much to Ron's dismay.

"What are you letting her use my broom for?" he asked angrily.

"Because, little brother, your broom can be out flown by butterflies, which is perfect for a first time flyer," Fred informed him.

"Don't worry, Ron, I'll be careful with it," Toby comforted him as she took the broom from George, "So, what do I do with it?"

"Set it on the ground first," Fred instructed her.

She gave him a confused look, "Why?"

"We figure the best way to do this is to do it the way they teach us at school. Just set it on the ground".

Toby did as she was told, "Ok. Now what?"

George gave the next instruction, "Call the broom to you".

"How do I do that?"

"Hold out your arm and just say 'Up!'. The broom should come to you," Harry said.

"But make sure you say it with some conviction, otherwise nothing will happen," added Ron.

"Got it," said Toby. Holding out her arm as Harry told her to do, she commanded "Up!" and a lightning bolt shot out of her hand and the broom flew into it without hesitation.

All four boys looked at Toby with utter surprise written all over their faces.

Toby was just as shocked as they were, "I didn't mean to do that! Is that bad?"

George shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. I hope not".

Everyone stood silent for a moment, not sure what to make of what just happened.

Fred decided to just move on, "Ok, now, Toby, you need to mount the broom. After that, kick off the ground and hover for a moment. If you can do that, then fly around low".

Doing as Fred instructed, Toby mounted the broom and kicked off the ground, but instead of hovering, the broom shot off into the air. Toby was surprised for about two seconds before she decided to just go with it. It really wasn't that difficult to fly. Ron's Shooting Star responded well to what she wanted it to do.

Fred called up to her, "Toby, are you all right up there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why don't you and George come up here?"

She kept flying around as she watched the twins mount their brooms on the ground below. They kicked off, flying up to where she was.

"You seem to be taking to this naturally. I'm impressed," George told her.

"This doesn't seem that hard. I should have learned to do this sooner," she said.

"Want to try playing a game of Quidditch with us? We'll go easy on you, we'll leave the Bludgers out," Fred promised.

Toby thought it over for a moment, "Sure, but I want to do something else first. George, I challenge you to a race. From here, around the house, and back. It'll be how we'll settle the incident earlier. What do you say?"

George let out an incredulous laugh, "A race? On that broom? I would win before you even made it out of the orchard".

"Then prove it," she challenged.

"What are the terms?"

"If you win, I'll apologize for shocking your foot. If I win, then you have to let me use your Cleensweep Five for the rest of the summer whenever I want. How does that sound?"

George held out his hand, "Deal," and Toby took his outstretched hand and shook it.

"Fred, would you like to do the honors and give us the signal to go?" asked Toby.

"I would love to," answered Fred.

Toby and George hovered next to each other, waiting for Fred to give them the signal.

"I'm going to win, you know," George informed her with a smug look.

"We'll see," she said.

Fred held up his hands to silence them, "Ready?"

Toby and George nodded.

"Ok. On your marks, get set, GO!"

And they were off. George quickly gained distance over Toby, much to his amusement.

"How does my tailwind taste, Toby? I'll be enjoying your apology when you get back to the orchard," he called to her over his shoulder.

_Dang it! Why can't this thing go faster?_ she thought. When the thought crossed her mind, she felt her electricity crackle at her fingertips. It flowed through the broomstick and propelled it at a speed a Shooting Star broom would never have been able to go otherwise. She caught up to George within a few seconds and matched the speed of his Cleansweep.

He looked at her hands where he saw her electricity, "Hey, that's cheating!"

"I'm not doing it intentionally! It's just kind of happening!"

"No matter. I'm still going to beat you anyway".

"In your dreams, Whore-hey!"

They stayed neck-and-neck as they made their way around the house and back to the orchard. Toby tried to will the broom faster, but her magic and electricity could only do so much with a Shooting Star broomstick. As they crossed the line of trees into the orchard Toby could hear Fred shout, "Look at that, ladies and gentlemen! It appears we have a tie!"

"That's not fair! She cheated!" exclaimed George as they dismounted their brooms.

"I did not! What difference does it make anyway? It was a tie!"

"What do you mean, she cheated?" Fred asked.

"She used her powers to make the broom go faster," explained George.

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Yes you did!"

"Did not!"

"Stop it! Now, since it was a tie, neither of you won, but neither of you lost either, so you both have to hold up your end of the bet," Fred informed them.

George didn't like that idea, "I'm not letting her use my broom!"

"I'm not apologizing to you either!" cried Toby.

She threw the broom on the ground and stalked back to her room. Picking up her new guitar to calm her nerves, Toby plugged it into the amp that she had also bought that day. Not really knowing what to play, she decided to try and figure out the melody to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". She suddenly heard a knocking on her door when she got about half way through, but when she opened the door no one was in the hallway.

"What the—?" Toby noticed a folded piece of paper addressed to her taped to her door. When she opened it, there were two very badly drawn stick figures labeled "Toby" and "George", and the Toby stick figure was being tackled by the George stick figure. On the bottom it said "Sorry for getting too close to your face. You can use my broom if you want. Love, George". Toby let out a laugh and ran down to the twins' room and knocked on their door.

George opened it, "Yes?"

Toby wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close, "I'm sorry for shocking your foot".

He hugged her back "I take it you got my note?" he chuckled when she nodded, "A bet is a bet, and we tied so now we've both held up our end of the bet".

"So, are we even?" she asked.

"Almost. Fred, now!" Still hugging Toby, George pulled her into the room where Fred promptly started to tickle her.

"Tell us how you can tell us apart," Fred commanded.

"No!"

"Yes, or I won't stop tickling you".

"Ugh! Fine! I can tell you apart by your eyes. Now knock it off!"

George let her go, "Now, was that really so hard?"

She glared at both of them, "Now I see why you two are twins".

"How's that?"

"There's too much mischief between the two of you to be contained in one person".

They both laughed at that, "You're pretty mischievous yourself, you know," Fred told her.

"Indeed. My foot is still tingling from earlier," commented George.

"Whatever. Come on, I think dinner is ready".

Everyone ate dinner outside that evening. This was because there were simply too many people for the Burrow's kitchen with the addition of Harry. The evening was warm and pleasant, and the food was delicious as usual. Toby was sad when Harry had to leave, but looked forward to seeing him soon.

When it was time for bed, Toby thought of the perfect ending to an interesting day. She went back to Fred and George's room, and seeing that the door was opened just a crack, she walked in.

"Can we help you?" asked Fred.

Toby smirked at them, "I think I want to stay with my favorite set of twins tonight".

Their eyes lit up, "And we'd be happy to oblige," said George.

They laid the way they did when Toby had her last nightmare, with Toby cuddled against George and Fred spooned behind her. As they started to drift off to sleep, she heard Fred mumble, "So, we're your favorite twins, huh?"

"Actually, you're the only twins I know," she said.

"And which one of us is your favorite twin?" asked George.

Toby furrowed her brow, "I like you both equally. I don't think I could really pick between you two".

It seemed to be a sufficient enough answer for them, but just as Toby was about to fall asleep…

"But if you **HAD** to pick…"

"Shut up, Fred".


	13. Feathered Friend

**Disclaimer: Oh, you've read this far and you still haven't heard? I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't be stuck here trying to earn a business degree.**

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long. I know it's a lame excuse, but school has been keeping me uber busy. My classes pretty much keep me occupied most of the time. Not only that, I'm also *ahem* seeing someone at the moment. So all that has kept me from writing. I haven't lost my motivation, I promise! I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be up though. *Braces for angry comments***

The last few weeks of summer passed without much incident. Toby had taken George up on his offer to use his broom whenever she wanted, and she'd gotten her school supply list. As the days ticked by, Toby was getting very excited to start the school year at Hogwarts.

The day before they had to leave for school, Toby and the Weasleys flood to the Leaky Cauldron to get their supplies in Diagon Alley. They were also going to stay at the inn for the night, considering King's Cross Station wasn't terribly far and it was the day before their departure. Toby was looking forward to seeing Harry again as she hadn't seen him since she had her flying lesson. After situating her things in the room she was sharing with Ginny, the two girls and Ron with Io following all three of them went to ask Tom the barman if he happened to know where Harry was.

"He left just before you got here. He's probably in the Alley somewhere," Tom told them.

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway," Toby replied.

Toby turned her head to see Molly approaching with Percy and the twins trailing behind her, "There you three are. Come on, you can find Harry after we get your things for school".

The first place they went to was Ollivander's wand shop so they could get a new wand for Ron.

"How did you break your first one?" Toby curiously asked.

Fred and George sniggered next to her and Ron blushed furiously, "Never you mind," he muttered.

George leaned in close to Toby's ear and whispered, "He flew Dad's flying Ford Anglia into the school's Whomping Willow last year".

Her jaw dropped in shock, "Are you serious?"

George nodded.

Toby had to stifle a laugh, "I guess I can understand why he never mentioned that to me."

Once they paid for Ron's new wand, they made their way over to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to get Toby her robes.

"Now, children, Toby isn't the only one getting new robes today. You all are getting a new set," Molly declared to the surprised Weasley kids.

"But, Mum, new robes are expensive. Where are we going to get the money?" George asked.

Toby said sheepishly, "Uh, George? Remember when you asked me if I was going to share my money with you guys? Well, the answer was 'yes' ".

Five grins broke out in front of her, "So, you're buying us all new school things?" Fred asked

"Yeah. Robes, books, whatever else you need. You are my unbiological family after all," she answered with a small smile.

"Thank you, Toby. That's very generous of you," Percy said gratefully.

"No problem".

Madame Malkin came out of the back room just then and said to Toby, "Miss? Could you please stand over here so I can measure you?"

Standing on the podium as Madame Malkin took her measurements, Toby studied herself in the mirror, not ever really having taken the time to do so. She was pretty, she supposed. Not gorgeous by any means, but certainly not ugly. She had long brown hair that extended past her shoulders. The layers around her face were a little bit wavy, and the rest was mostly straight. She had an oval face with brown eyes, a small nose, and full lips. Her physique was similar to her mother's: sleek and slender, but she looked just like her father. Thinking about them now made Toby feel a little sad.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Madame Malkin, "I take it you need the usual? Shirts, sweaters, skirts, and the like?"

Toby nodded, "Could I have a few pairs of trousers too?"

"It is not customary for girls to wear trousers at Hogwarts, Toby," she heard Percy say disapprovingly behind her.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Does it specifically say anywhere that they can't?"

Percy frowned, "Well, no, it doesn't".

"Then I'm getting trousers. I don't do things in the customary way anyway".

"And that's a fact," the twins chorused in unison.

Toby shot Fred and George a look before Madame Malkin told her she was finished. She hopped off the podium and sat next to Molly and watched as Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny all got fitted for brand new robes.

Once they were finished in the robe shop, they started heading out to get the rest of the school supplies. As they were walking toward Flourish and Blotts to get their books, Toby heard Ron call to her, "Hey, Toby, I see Hermione! Come on!" He gestured for her to follow him over to the shop where the owls were sold. Toby saw a girl with frizzy brown hair looking at the owls at Eeylop's Owl Emporium.

"Hermione! Oi, Hermione!" Ron shouted as they got closer.

The girl turned around and smiled broadly, revealing slightly larger than normal front teeth, "Ron! Hi! It's so good to see you! How was your summer?"

Ron replied, "Good. Real good," he turned toward Toby, "Hermione, this is Toby, the family friend who's living with us now".

Hermione's smile immediately fell, "Oh, you're the Electromancer I read about. Nice to meet you," she said with cold politeness.

Toby was very taken aback by Hermione's sudden change in demeanor, but smiled nonetheless, "It's nice to meet you too, Hermione".

Hermione's cold, appraising frown never left her face, and Toby was focusing on something—anything—to try and change the subject.

She was grateful when she noticed a familiar face, "Hey, guys, look! It's Harry! Hey, Harry, over here!" she called to him.

The Boy-Who-Lived grinned when he heard who called to him, and quickly walked over to where they were standing.

"Harry! Hi! How was your summer?" Hermione turned the warmth back on.

"Not bad," he replied, then noticed where they were standing, "Any special reason why we're standing in front of the owl shop?"

"I was thinking about buying an owl," Hermione answered, "I have 10 galleons left over from getting school things, and I thought it would be a good idea. You have Hedwig and Ron has Errol".

"Errol is a family owl, Hermione," informed Ron, "he doesn't belong to me. Only Scabbers is mine. Speaking of which, I need to take him to the Magical Menagerie to have him looked at. He's been off color since we got back from Egypt".

"Well, let's go there first, then. I still haven't decided what I want to do with my money, so you can have Scabbers looked over and I can look around," said Hermione.

"I'm game," declared Toby.

"Me too," Harry chimed.

They made their way to the Magical Menagerie. As they walked, Toby didn't fail to notice that Hermione was trying to put as much space between her and Toby as humanly possible. Toby was wondering what she could have done to possibly offend Hermione, but the thought was pushed to the back of her mind as she stepped into the Magical Menagerie. She had never been in this particular shop, and was pleasantly amazed at all the animals that were in there. There was every domestic wizarding pet imaginable: puffskeins, fire crabs, cats in every color (really, _every _color), and even a rabbit that changed into a hat.

Toby was looking at a cage full of streelers when, from the rafters of the shop, a medium sized, grey owl that had gotten out of his cage perched on her shoulder and screeched shrilly in her ear.

"Ah! Go away, you stupid bird!" she shouted while trying to shoo the owl away. Instead, it stayed put and bit her ear.

"Ow! What is wrong with you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the cage, or what?"

"Looks like you made a new friend, Toby," Harry sniggered, earning a glare from the Electromancer.

The commotion between Toby and the troublesome owl got the attention from the shop owner, "Miss? That owl won't leave your shoulder anytime soon. Eeylops sent him here to have him looked at because he kept getting out of his cage and bothering the patrons. Just let me finish with your friend's rat here, and then I'll be happy to help you".

Toby gave a sideways glance to the owl, "Guess I'm stuck with you for the time being".

Deciding she wanted a better look at her winged companion, she beckoned it to perch on her forearm, and much to her surprise, it obliged. He was very beautiful owl. Standing roughly a foot and a half tall, the owl had a lovely mixture of brown, white and grey feathers, and huge brown eyes.

"So, you harass customers, huh? I suppose you just want a home," she mused aloud. The bird gave a small hoot in reply, making Toby laugh. With the owl still attached to her arm, she walked over to the front counter where the shop owner was examining Scabbers.

"Excuse me, Ma'am? What species of owl is this?" Toby asked.

The woman looked up, "He's a Greyish Eagle-Owl. They come from Africa, I believe".

"You wouldn't happen to know how long he's been at Eeylops, would you?"

"Not the exact amount of time, but he's been there awhile. No one wants an owl that doesn't leave them alone".

"You're not actually thinking about getting that owl, are you?" asked Ron disbelievingly.

Toby ignored his question, and kept staring at the owl on her arm.

"I'll tell you what, Bird, if you can be a good owl, I'll give you a good home and a cool name. How does that sound?" she asked.

The owl flapped its wings excitedly, which Toby could only guess meant a good thing.

"One last thing before we seal the deal. Io! Come here, girl! If I'm going to buy you, then you and my dog have to get along," Io trotted up and sat down in front of her owner. Toby knelt down and held the owl out to her dog to inspect. Io curiously sniffed the bird in front of her, and to Toby's delight, started wagging her tail and gave an approving bark.

"Guess I'm buying you, Bird. Ma'am?" she addressed the shop owner once again, "Do you have the authority to sell me this owl?"

The shop owner would have answered, if it were not for a large orange cat jumping on Ron's head.

"Ouch! Stupid bloody cat!" Ron yelped. The cat in question lunged at Scabbers and chased the rat out of store.

"Scabbers! Come back!" shouted Ron. He and Harry ran outside to try and track down Scabbers, leaving Toby and Hermione alone in the shop.

"That Crookshanks is going to cause me to lose all my customers," complained the shop owner before turning her attention back to Toby, "Yes, I can sell you the owl, but are you sure you want him? He's nothing but trouble".

Toby gave another glance to the bird, "I think I can handle it".

The shop keeper swiftly grabbed the owl's cage, "He's yours".

Toby reached in her pocket and pulled out several galleons and placed them on the counter, "Thank you!"

The owner smiled, "No. Thank _you_".

Holding her new owl towards the cage, Toby commanded "Get in".

The owl just gave her an 'I-don't-think-so' look.

"Look, Bird, you said you'd be a good owl, now get in the cage. I'll let you out later, ok?"

Giving the cage another reproachful look, the owl reluctantly hopped in. Toby nodded in approval, took hold of the cage, and went outside to find the boys, Hermione following at a distance. Both girls saw the cat that had chased Scabbers run back into the Magical Menagerie, and Hermione followed it back inside. Toby found Ron and Harry by a garbage can.

"Hey guys, did you find Scabbers?" Toby asked them.

"Yeah, we did," Ron turned around and gawked at the cage in her hand, "You bought that barmy bird?"

"Pretty sure he wouldn't have left me alone if I hadn't," laughed Toby.

"What are you going to name him?" Harry asked.

"Don't know yet. It needs to be cool, and appropriate. When I think of something, I'll let you know".

"Harry, Ron, look! Isn't he gorgeous?" Hermione came rushing out of the pet shop holding the cat that had just attacked Scabbers. He was a rather scruffy looking cat, and his face looked like it had gotten bashed in with a frying pan. Strangely enough, it was one of those things where the cat was so ugly, it was almost cute.

Ron seemed quite beside himself, "Hermione, I can't believe you bought that monster! It tried to kill Scabbers!"

"It's a cat, Ron, what do you expect?"

"Just keep that thing away from my rat!"

Toby looked at Harry and mouthed "Does this happen a lot?" to which he responded with an eye roll and a nod.

"Ron? If you're done being mad at a cat for being a cat, then I think we should go to Flourish and Blotts and get our books. It's almost lunch time and I'm sure your mom is wondering where we are," Toby said in an attempt to break up the argument.

Still seething slightly at Hermione, Ron grumbled, "You're right. Come on," and sulked off in a huff.

Toby turned to Harry who just shrugged his shoulders and followed after his friend. Hermione followed Harry, and Toby had no choice but to bring up the rear. The four of them silently made their way to the bookstore where Toby and Ron bought the last of their books (including a rather frightening monster book that attacked people. Toby just could not see the practicality of that at all). Realizing their shopping was finally finished, they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Before eating dinner with everyone, Toby figured it would be best if she dropped off her things in her room. She swiftly ran up the stairs to her room and tossed her school supplies on the bed and carefully placed her caged owl on the night table. Upon turning to go back to the dining area, Toby's owl started to screech at her almost desperately.

She turned back to him, "What do you want?" she asked irritatedly.

The owl continued screeching, and was flapping his wings so violently he almost tipped the cage over.

Toby rushed to keep the cage from falling, "Ok! Ok! I get it! You don't want to be in the cage anymore! I'll let you out and you can roam the London landscape and wreak as much havoc as you want," but instead of flying out the open window as she expected, the owl perched on her shoulder as he had done earlier that day.

With a shake of her head and a heavy sigh, Toby said, "Fine, you can join me for dinner, but you better behave, or I'll roast you and feed you to Hermione's cat. Got it?"

The owl made what sounded almost like a yelp and immediately quieted down. Toby nodded in approval and was finally able to head back downstairs to eat her dinner.

The twins were the first to notice Toby's new companion as she sat across from them at the table, "What's with the owl?" George asked her.

"Found him at the Magical Menagerie, and I figured he might be useful. He's kind of annoying though," answered Toby.

Fred gave the owl an appraising look, "What's his name?"

"He doesn't have one yet. I'm still mulling it over".

George smirked, "I think you should name him 'Percy'. He and our overly studious brother have the annoying trait in common".

"I heard that!" the overly studious brother in question shouted from the other end of the table.

Toby snorted at Fred and George, "Thanks for the suggestion, but no," and in a more hushed tone she added, "Besides, I promised my bird that I'd give him a **cool** name".

When their food arrived, they were still laughing at Toby's remark. Once they were finished eating, the three of them headed back up to Toby's room to hang out before going to bed for the night. Toby turned on her computer to get some music playing. As she tried to get her owl off her shoulder and back into his cage, he suddenly and painfully dug his talons into her shoulder and bit her ear in protest.

"I think I finally came up with a name for this crazy bird," Toby declared.

"And what name would that be, dear Toby?" inquired Fred.

"I'm going to name him 'Sephiroth'".

The twins' faces contorted in consideration, "Why would you name him something like that?" George questioned.

Toby glared at the grey owl still attached to her shoulder, whom she could have sworn was grinning at her, "He's an evil little bird".

Fred and George gave another laugh at that comment, but Toby was more concerned with the now named owl that never wanted to leave her alone. She beckoned Sephiroth to perch on her forearm, and he obliged as he had earlier.

"Look, Sephiroth, I'm touched at how much you like me, but this is ridiculous. You can't follow me around all day every day. Why don't you spend some time with Io, or Harry's owl, or go out and hunt mice like a normal owl? I won't put you in your cage for tonight, but I need to know that you're not going to become a wannabe conjoined twin or something," Toby gave a stern but understanding look to Sephiroth, and he seemed to understand what she was saying to him. He took off from her arm and flew out the open window into the night.

"I think that bird is going to give you a lot of trouble," George observed.

Toby thought that over for a moment, "We'll see. He's a smart bird, so I think if I train him well enough, he'll be ok".

"Let's hope you're right," said Fred.

"I'm not worried about it. I'm more worried about tomorrow," Toby admitted.

"Don't be. Everything will be fine. Even if you don't get sorted into Gryffindor, we'll still be around…unless you get sorted into Slytherin. Then we'll disown you," teased George.

Toby rolled her eyes, "Good to know that your affection for me is conditional".

Fred chuckled "Isn't it, though? Wouldn't want you to be disillusioned into thinking we liked you no matter what".

"No, I wouldn't want that at all," Toby couldn't help but smile. She pulled Fred and George into a group hug, "Thanks for making me feel a little better, guys. I'm sure everything will go fine tomorrow".

She just hoped she was right.


	14. Train Ride

**Disclaimer: Oh! You think I own Harry Potter? You're funny. :)**

**A/N: I edited this chapter because, once I reread it a few times after posting it, I hated how it turned out, and I couldn't just leave it be. Hopefully you like it better now. :D  
**

Toby could sense the anticipation crackling in the air when she woke up the next morning. Today was the day. She was going to start her magical education at a new school, which was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

After dressing quickly because of her nerves, Toby grabbed her suitcases, leashed up Io and waited for the rest of the Weasleys in what could be considered the Leaky Cauldron's lobby.

"A little too excited for the start of term, aren't we? Hogwarts isn't **THAT **exciting, Toby," George teased as he and Fred descended the stairs.

Toby blushed, "It's not that. I'm just…jittery," she admitted.

"Oh, stop fretting, dear Tobias. Nothing bad is going to happen," Fred assured her.

"Well, the students could start taunting you," mused George.

"And mock you," Fred added.

"And completely ostracize you, and then no one would like you, including us because we have a reputation to think of," both twins had very convincingly serious looks on their faces, but Toby knew better. Within moments she was out of breath from laughing so hard.

Regaining her composure, and feeling the tension in her body subside a bit, Toby hugged Fred and George, "Thanks guys, I needed that".

"Toby, really, it's going to be fine. If anyone messes with you, we'll put them right, won't we Fred?" George asked his twin.

"Of course. No one messes with my favorite pillow!" Fred declared, which sent Toby into another laughing fit.

"Toby, where's that crazy owl of yours?" Ron was the next to come downstairs. He looked like he could have used a few more hours of sleep.

Toby shrugged, "I don't know. I let him out last night, and he hasn't come back yet. I'm not worried about it. He's a smart bird who likes me a lot. I'm sure he can find me just fine".

"Barmy bird will probably follow you around everywhere you go," grumbled Ron sleepily.

"Again, not worried about it," said Toby.

One by one, the rest of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione all congregated in the lobby, ready to go. They all filed into cars provided by the Ministry. In a matter of minutes they were in King's Cross Station loading their trunks and suitcases onto trolleys and heading for their train.

"Where exactly is the train?" asked Toby.

"Platform 9 ¾," answered Percy.

Toby's brow wrinkled, "Platform 9 ¾? I seriously doubt that's an actual platform here".

"It's in-between platforms 9 and 10," Percy explained impatiently.

"Wouldn't that make it 9 ½?" Toby smirked.

Percy let out a sigh, ignoring her question, "There's a barrier. I'll go through it first so you can see how it's done," and while gripping his trolley tightly with both hands, Toby watched Percy walk into the pillar and completely disappear.

Toby couldn't help but grin, "That is **SO **cool".

George turned to her, "What did you expect? Did you think there would be a train full of witches and wizards where Muggles could see us?"

"That's how it is in the US, but we're not as concerned with hiding our world as you are. You know, that whole 'right of free speech' law we got going on there, maybe you should look into it," she threw back.

He smirked at her, "I'm sure our Ministry will get right on that," he looked back at the pillar, "See you on the other side," and before Toby could respond, George, with Fred at his side, disappeared into the barrier.

"All right, Toby, you next," Molly was giving her an encouraging smile and gesturing towards the barrier, "Just walk through and don't stop until you're on the other side of the barrier".

Toby simply nodded. She walked as casually as possible toward the pillar, and snuck through as a wave of distracted Muggles hurried by. Her eyesight was overwhelmed by the sudden darkness, but just as soon as it came, she was on the other side, gazing at the massive, old-school steam engine in front of her. She saw Percy, Fred and George by the luggage compartment handing over their suitcases. Toby went over to them, and dropped off her things.

"Are you sitting with us on the train, Toby?" Harry asked as he walked up behind her.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but Toby is going to sit with us," Fred announced.

"Oh, really? I don't recall saying that I was going to," informed Toby with a glare.

Without missing a beat, Hermione immediately insisted, "You should go with them. I bet they could give you a more entertaining introduction to the school than anyone else," she sounded friendly enough, but Toby could tell Hermione didn't want Toby sitting anywhere near her.

Not having the time or desire to argue, Toby conceded, "Fine. Fred, George, lead on!"

The twins each grabbed Toby by an arm, and led her through the large crowd of students and parents onto the Hogwarts Express.

"This is going to be brilliant!" grinned George.

"We can sit with our Quidditch teammates, and you can meet them," Fred continued.

"Don't worry, Toby, they'll love you. We can tell you all about our games, or maybe play Exploding Snap".

The two of them seemed to get more excited by the second "And then we could indulge ourselves with sweets when that old witch with the candy trolley comes by".

"Sounds good, guys. Can we hurry up with the whole find-a-place-to-sit thing? I'd like to not be standing when the train starts moving".

She was met with George's mischievous gaze, "Patience, dear Toby. Give us a minute to find our friends".

They walked down the train's narrow hallway of compartments. Soon, Toby saw a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks stick his head out of one of them.

"Oi! Fred! George! You daft prats! Get your arses in here!" he shouted jovially to them.

Toby figured the twins knew this guy, so she decided to be clever and fire back with, "Well, you know what they say, 'You are who you hang with'".

The boy looked her up and down and gave a low whistle, "And who might you be? I don't believe we've met".

Fred and George pushed Toby in front of them, presenting her as if she was a cow at the state fair, "Lee Jordan, this is Toby Donato, the family friend who's living with us now. Toby, this is Lee Jordan, our partner in crime, so to speak," George introduced.

Lee gave her a gleaming smile and extended his hand to her, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope Fred and George have been respectful of someone as lovely as you".

Toby let out a laugh, "Hardly, but no worries. I can give both of them a run for their galleons".

One of the twins playfully shoved her past Lee and into the compartment. Upon regaining her balance, she noticed that there were two other girls in there that she didn't know.

"Cute dog," one of them said to her.

"Thanks," Toby replied shyly. Io was a good icebreaker, she had to admit.

George and Fred stepped in just after her, "Angelina, Alicia, this is Toby. Toby, this is Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. They're two of the Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Fred acquainted. He pulled Toby down in the seat between him and George.

"You're the American Electromancer, aren't you?" asked Angelina.

Toby nodded, "Yeah, that's me".

"You killed six people who held you captive," she stated rather bluntly with a frown.

Toby gasped, not knowing how to respond. This wasn't how she wanted her first day to go.

George came to her rescue, "Look, Angelina, if you've got something against Toby, then we can just leave".

"No, no. I was just going to say that she's very brave," she turned her gaze back to Toby, "You went through a lot, and you're still standing strong. That takes a lot of guts," she gave a reassuring smile, and Toby felt more at ease.

They spent the next several hours of their train ride just talking. It was mostly Angelina, Alicia, and Lee asking Toby questions about her abilities, her past, life in the US, and her expectations of Hogwarts. About half-way through the trip, the old witch pushing a cart laden with candy, and all six students in the compartment bought a dentist's nightmare's worth.

"I still can't believe you have to train with Snape," said George, who was stuffing his face with a pumpkin pasty.

"Is he really as bad as you say he is?" Toby asked skeptically.

"Worse," Fred answered, "Hey, Lee, could you hand me one of those Ice Mice?"

Lee picked up a pack of the magical sweet and reached across the aisle to hand them to Fred, but something happened that took Toby completely by surprise. As Fred and Lee's hands made contact, they lingered just a little too long, and a look passed between them that made Toby question everything she knew about her red-haired friend.

Toby didn't have much time to process what had just transpired between the two young men, because the Hogwarts Express suddenly started to slow down.

Everyone gave each other very confused looks, "There's no way we could be there yet," Alicia said.

Angelina stood up and looked out the compartment door, then turned around and shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe a unicorn is stranded on the tracks".

The train continued to slow down for a few more minutes before jerking to a stop. Toby got up to take a look out the window to see if there was any visible reason why the train had stopped, but all she could see was blackness and rain hitting the window. She was about to report her findings, but all the lights on the train unexpectedly went out.

"Guys, what's going on?" Toby turned to Fred and George for some reassurance, but their gazes were fixed on the door, expressions of fear etched on their faces. She lifted her eyes to see what they were looking at, and let out a gasp of terror. There was a dark figure floating in the doorway, hooded and cloaked. Toby couldn't make out a face under the hood, but she could hear it taking rattling breaths, as if it were trying to suck in more than just air. The creature in front of her reminded her of what she imagined a Nazgul from _The Lord of the Rings_ to look like, and it thoroughly petrified her. It slowly floated into the compartment, and Toby could feel all the good emotions leave her body. The thing's gaze never left her, though she was pretty sure it didn't have eyes. It took in a very long, shuddering breath, and all Toby could feel was cold. It was unlike anything she had ever felt, nothing like how cold it could get in Wisconsin during the winter, which was legendary. This kind of cold penetrated every cell, every atom in her body, and the longer she felt it, the more vivid a vision of her time in Vegas flashed in her memory.

"_Toby, remember how I told you that even though I've committed some heinous things in my time, I would never harm a child? Well, I'm afraid that the parents of said child do not get the same treatment. AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

"NO!" Toby cried. She could even swear she saw the green flash indicating the terrible killing curse. All she wanted was for the whatever was going on to stop.

"Toby! Snap out of it! It's gone now. Come on, look at me! It's ok!" George was kneeling over her, cradling her face in his hands, trying to bring her back to the Hogwarts Express and away from Las Vegas.

"What happened?" Toby asked. She felt so disoriented. How had she ended up on the floor?

"Well, that Dementor sort of zeroed-in on you, and you kind of collapsed and started crying. Once that happened, it tried to get closer, but you shot off one of your bolts at it right out of your chest, and it left," Fred explained.

A Dementor. She'd heard of them, but had never seen one. They were awful, and that was the understatement of the century. Toby also found it odd that she'd shot off a lightning bolt from her chest. She'd never learned how to manipulate electricity from anyplace other than her hands.

She suddenly felt the eyes of everyone in the room on her. Feeling embarrassed and ashamed of how she reacted, she got up on shaky legs and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Lee called after her.

"I need some air," she replied, not slowing down, "Io, come here, girl!"

Her faithful dog jumped off the seat and followed her. She briskly walked down the hallway, knowing there were only so many places on a train that she could go to be alone. When Toby made it to the back of the train, something in the last compartment caught her eye. When she slowed down to get a better look, she saw Ron and Hermione on either side of Harry, who was unconscious on the floor.

Toby threw the door open and rushed to Harry's side, "Oh my god, Harry!," she cried. She turned to Ron, "What happened?"

"A Dementor came. Harry went rigid and collapsed. He hasn't woken up yet," Ron's expression was grave.

"Is he going to be ok? Are you guys ok?"

"We're fine. You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Hermione expressed. Toby could tell that Hermione didn't want her there.

"I'm staying until Harry wakes up. I want to make sure he's all right".

"He's going to be fine, miss. You really don't have to worry," reassured a man she hadn't noticed. He was sitting in the corner of the compartment, wearing the shabbiest clothes she'd ever seen. He looked exhausted, and his hair was graying, which was weird considering how young he looked. The more Toby studied him, the more she sensed something off about him. They way his electrical signals were firing wasn't quite...normal, wasn't quite human, and it totally unsettled her.

His brows furrowed, "Are _you _all right?"

She tore her gaze away from him, "Yeah. I'm fine".

Toby heard Harry groan and come to, and she was glad she had something else to focus on.

The shabby man handed something to Harry, "Here. Eat this. It's chocolate".

Harry took the chocolate apprehensively and slowly ate it. The older gentleman also handed pieces to Ron, Hermione and Toby. She wasn't sure if she should eat it. She didn't trust this man. Something wasn't right about him, and she wished she knew what it was.

"What was that thing?" Harry asked. He still looked pale and shaken.

"A Dementor. One of the guards of Azkaban. It came on the train looking for Sirius Black," the man answered. He stood up from his seat and made his way to the door, "If you'll excuse me, I need to have a word with the conductor," he turned and eyed Toby, "Eat. You'll feel better," and he disappeared down the hallway.

Toby took a tentative bite of the chocolate the man had given her, and felt warmth radiate through her body. Feeling better, she finished the rest of the chocolate quickly.

"Who was that guy?" she asked.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione answered in a very know-it-all tone.

"Professor of what?" Toby wondered out loud.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," replied Ron, "It's the only teaching position open".

Toby turned to Harry, who had remained silent for the last few minutes, "Harry, are you all right? You don't look so good".

His eyes met hers, but quickly looked away, "Did any of you pass out?" he asked.

"I almost did," Toby admitted, "One came right for me and I collapsed".

Harry gave a small nod, but Toby could tell his mind was elsewhere. Knowing that there really wasn't much else she could do for the Boy-Who-Lived, Toby rose to her feet, "I'm going to go back by Fred and George. I'm sure they're wondering where I am. I'll see you guys when we get to the school".

Toby made no hurry to get back. As she stepped back in the compartment, everyone looked at her with worry.

"Toby, you're back! Are you better now?" George asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. I'm ok".

"Look, Toby. Dementors are really nasty. Don't feel bad at how you reacted," Alicia gave Toby a warm, sincere smile, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Toby debated with herself on whether or not to tell them what the Dementor made her feel, but decided maybe it was best if she kept something like that to herself.

Lee gave a gaze out the window, "We've got to be nearly there. Perhaps we should change into our robes".

Everyone agreed with Lee, and as luck would have it, once they were done putting their robes on, the train slowly came to a stop at the train station in Hogsmeade. Toby took a deep breath and followed Fred and George off the train. It was still raining. Once outside, Toby could hear someone shouting "Firs' years! Firs' years, this way!"

"Could you guys take Io in with you? I don't want her going on the boat with me. Just get her into the castle and she can explore and get used to the surroundings," Toby requested of the twins.

"No problem," answered George.

"And don't worry, we'll make sure that nothing happens to her," Fred added with a smirk.

Toby just rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Just don't experiment on her between here and the castle".

"No promises," they chorused in unison.

Toby ignored them and made her way to the bellowing voice that was beckoning the youngest students. As a transfer student, she would enter the castle and be sorted with the first years. When she saw the man who would be taking her and a bunch of small children to the castle, her jaw dropped in surprise. He was the biggest person she'd ever seen. He had to be at least eight feet tall, if not taller. His head and face were covered in a tangled mess of coarse, black hair. Toby felt nervous as she approached where he was directing the first years to go.

When he saw her join the ranks, a smile broke out on his face, making his black eyes glitter in the dim light of the lamp he was holding, "Ah, you mus' be Tobias Donato. Dumbledore told me to be expecting yeh. I'm Hagrid. I hope you enjoy yer time here at Hogwarts".

Toby returned his smile, "It's just Toby. And thanks".

Hagrid nodded once and slowly walked off towards the back end of the train, still shouting, "Firs' years, this way!" as he went.

Toby lingered at the back of the group, feeling awkward about having to enter the school with the younger kids. She became lost in thought, wondering what house she would be sorted into. Part of her wanted to be sorted into Gryffindor so that she wouldn't have to be separated from the friends she had already made, but she figured any of the other houses would be suitable, except maybe Slytherin. She was smart enough to know that getting sorted there didn't automatically make you a bad person, but from what she'd heard, that's where a lot of bad people tended to go. Toby just didn't want to deal with that.

"Shut up, Mudblood! Your kind don't even deserve to be here!" Toby was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of one of the first years yelling at another one. When she turned, she saw a large boy (he was almost as tall as she was) picking on a much smaller one, who looked like he was about to start crying. She figured she could probably give the smaller kid a hand, and made her way over to confront the large beast of a child.

She slipped in between the two boys, serving as a shield for the smaller one, "Is there a problem here?" she addressed the large one. She was still a few inches taller than him, and hoped it would be enough to intimidate him.

"You look a bit old to be a first year," he sneered instead of answering her.

One of her brows arched, "I'm a transfer student," she said.

Realization suddenly dawned on his face "You're the Electromancer I heard about! Your kind don't belong here either!"

The words stung, but she ignored it, "Yeah? Well, I am here. Care to make something of it?" she asked with a dangerous edge to her voice.

He inched towards her, "I'm not afraid to hit a girl," he said.

"And I could incapacitate you in less than a second," she held her hand out, where electricity started to crackle at her fingertips. The kids who had gathered to watch the display gasped, "Do you really want to chance it?"

The rain was still pelting down around them, making the boy look like a wet dog and not so threatening. He seemed to be debating with himself on whether or not to hit her, and she desperately hoped he wouldn't. Toby didn't want to have to hurt someone on her first day. After a few moments, he seemed to decide against trying to fight her, and sulked to the other side of the group.

As soon as it was over, the other first years immediately moved away from her, except the small boy whom she had been defending. Toby turned to face him. He was very small for his age, with sand colored hair and huge brown eyes set in a very baby looking face. He looked incredibly relieved.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"No problem, kid. Why was he getting after you anyway?" she asked.

He shrugged, "I was talking to that brown-haired girl over there, and I said that both of my parents are non-magical, and he just came up to me and said that Mudbloods don't belong here".

"What is a Mudblood anyway?"

"Don't know, but I think it means something really bad".

"Well, if he gives you any more trouble, you just let me know, ok?"

He nodded, then asked, "What's an Electromancer?"

"It means I can control electricity".

His eyes lit up, "Brilliant!"

She chuckled, "What's your name, kid?"

"Daniel Allmondinger," he answered.

"Well, Daniel Allmondinger, I'm Toby Donato. It's nice to meet you".

Just then, Hagrid came back with the rest of the first year students, "Ev'ryone, follow me!" he bellowed. He led them down a narrow pathway through a woodsy area, which brought them to a dock on an enormous lake with several medium sized row boats. One by one, the students climbed into them. Toby and Daniel climbed into one making sure it was as far from the large boy as possible. Once the last student was situated, the boats started to float across the river by themselves. It was hard to make anything out in the rain. Toby could kind of see some lights off in the distance, but her visibility was limited. She'd have to wait until later to get a better look at the castle.

They came up on the shore by the main entrance of the castle, and docked there. Hagrid led them up a path and into the castle. They were brought to an antechamber where Hagrid told them to wait.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" Daniel asked her.

"We get sorted into one of the four houses," Toby answered.

He looked up at her with a confused expression, "How do they do that?"

Fred and George had gone into detail about the sorting ceremony, so she knew the answer to that, "With a hat, apparently".

"What do you think it's going to be like?"

Toby pondered that for a moment, "Awkward. Everyone is going to be staring at us," she replied.

"They'll probably be staring at you. You're the oldest," he glanced around at the rest of the group, "and the tallest".

"Thanks, Daniel. You just made me feel _**so **_much better," she said sarcastically.

They stood and chatted for a few more moments until Toby noticed a very short old man with white hair approach them. He was carrying a stool and an ancient looking hat, "Greetings, students! I am Professor Flitwick. I will be escorting you into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your houses. They are Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. Houses earn and lose points, and at the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup," he paused for a moment to let them take in what he had said. Then, with a smile on his face, he said, "It's time. Follow me".

They followed Professor Flitwick out of the antechamber and into the Great Hall. Toby was taken aback by how cool it was. Hundreds upon hundreds of candles were suspended in the air above four long tables where all the other students were seated. She spotted Fred and George, who were giving her encouraging smiles. She and the first years were directed to where the other professors were sitting. Professor Flitwick set the stool down in front of them and placed the hat on top of it. It started to sing a song about the founders of Hogwarts and the characteristics of the students in each house.

When it was finished, Professor Flitwick started to call names of the students to be sorted, "Aaron, Sheila!"

A little auburn-haired girl walked hesitantly up to the stool. She sat down and Professor Flitwick placed the sorting hat on her head. Within moments it shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" and one of the table erupted with cheers, and little Sheila Aaron hurried over to her house's table, happy to no longer have the attention on her.

A few more names were called, each going to the various houses. Toby noticed that the hat wasn't taking that long to sort anyone. She turned to look around her. Daniel had been right, everyone was staring at her.

"Allmondinger, Daniel!" was the next name Professor Flitwick called.

"Your turn, kid," Toby said.

She watched Daniel nervously approach the stool and sit on it. After roughly five seconds, the hat bellowed "HUFFLEPUFF!" Toby gave him a thumbs up and he rushed over to the Hufflepuff table.

As more and more names were called, Toby got more and more nervous about her own sorting. There hadn't been anything like this back in the US. You were randomly placed in a dorm. That was it.

Professor Flitwick continued to make his way through the list of names, "Dolohov, Jeremy!" was next.

Toby looked on as the bully from earlier went up to be sorted. The hat was barely on his head before it shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

Toby rolled her eyes. _Figures, _she thought.

"Donato, Tobias!"

Toby gulped, but made her way as confidently as possible up to the sorting hat. When she turned around and faced the school, she could see the weird looks and people whispering to each other, but she tried to ignore it as the hat was placed on her head.

_Well, bless my seams! An Electromancer! I always wondered when I would get to sort one of your kind! _It exclaimed in her head, making her jump.

_Um...hi? _was her best response.

_Hm...yes...this is going to be a very difficult sorting. You exhibit many of the qualities that each founder held in high esteem._

_I do? _she asked.

_Why, yes. You are hardworking like Hufflepuff, intelligent like Ravenclaw, courageous like Gryffindor, and cunning like Slytherin._

_No offense, but I don't think I'd be a good fit in Slytherin._

_Hot sauce and shocking a certain Weasley's foot?_

Toby blushed at that.

_Yes, this is very difficult, indeed. You remind me of young Mr. Potter. He is a very good match for you, by the way._

Toby started at that. _What? What do you mean "he's a good match for me"?_

_As an Electromancer, you should know, but if you don't yet, then you to need to figure it out on your own._

Toby was so confused by what the hat was saying, she wasn't sure what to think.

_Mhm, he's the perfect match for you in that respect, and with that in mind, I know just where to put you. _GRYFFINDOR!

The last part was shouted for all to hear, and the house the hat sorted her into burst out in thunderous cheers. Toby made her way over to her house's table, where Fred and George enveloped her in crushing hugs. Fred even spun her around.

"What did I tell you? All Weasleys get sorted into Gryffindor," he said to her.

"Yes, you did tell me that," Toby replied. She was still reeling from what the sorting hat had told her about Harry, who was not at the table. Neither was Hermione.

"Hey, Ron, where are Harry and Hermione?"

"Don't know. Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to them".

Toby just nodded while she watched the rest of the first years get sorted. Once they were finished, Professor Flitwick took the hat and stool off to the side. While he was doing that, Toby saw Harry finally walk into the Great Hall, which made her heart skip a beat or two. Hermione came in a few moments after Harry.

"Where were you?" she asked Harry when he sat down.

"Professor McGonagall wanted to school nurse to make sure I was all right after the incident on the train," he said, then it dawned on him, "You got sorted into Gryffindor?"

Toby nodded, but she didn't tell him what the Sorting Hat had said to her. Until she figured it out like the hat seemed to think she needed to, she wasn't going to worry him with it.

Toby was very distracted the rest of the night, thinking about what the Sorting Hat had said. She heard the headmaster make a start of term speech, but she didn't really pay attention to what he was saying. Plates upon plates of delicious looking food appeared before her eyes, and she ate, but couldn't for the life of her, told anyone what she had eaten. When the feast was over and people started to make their way to the respective dorms, Toby vaguely noticed all the portraits around the grand staircase, and she distantly heard someone shout "Fortuna Major!" to open a portrait of a fat woman that led to the Gryffindor common room. She followed Hermione up to the third year girl's dorm. The other two girls in her year, Parvati and Lavender, introduced themselves to her with gleaming, welcoming smiles, but she just smiled back absently.

Really, what had the Sorting Hat meant? Was Harry her soul mate or something? There weren't any records of Electromancers getting married. It still begged the question: Did she like Harry as more than a friend?

As she laid down in her four poster bed and started to drift off, she couldn't honestly answer the question either way.

**You know the drill. Please review! They make my day. ^_^**


	15. Bad Aim

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of clever ways to tell you all that Harry Potter does not belong to me, so, yeah, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me.**

Toby got up and got dressed groggily and begrudgingly the next morning. Lavender and Parvati gave her friendly "Good mornings", but she just grunted in response. She'd gotten too used to getting up later during the summer. Toby wordlessly followed Hermione to the common room where they met up with Harry and Ron. When they got to the Great Hall, Toby found Io waiting patiently by the door with a "Feed me now" expression in her eyes.

"Morning, girl," she yawned to her loyal companion, "I bet you're hungry".

Upon entering the Great Hall, Toby saw a group of students at the Slytherin table gathered around Draco Malfoy, who looked like he was doing some weird fainting act. Every time he did it, the Slytherins erupted with laughter. Toby thought maybe Malfoy was making fun of her, but she had no idea how he would have heard about what happened on the train.

"Ignore him," Hermione said to Harry, shooting down Toby's theory, "Just ignore him, it's not worth it".

"Hey, Potter! Potter! The dementors are coming!" yelled a girl who might have been pretty if she didn't have such an evil snarl on her face.

The four of them sat down by Fred and George, the latter handing them their schedules.

"What's wrong with you, Harry? You look a bit miffed," George asked.

"Malfoy," Harry answered.

Toby gave another glance to the Slytherin table in time to see Draco do another fainting fit. It was irritating her. What kind of jerk makes fun of someone for something like that?

"Stupid git," George said, "Wasn't so full of himself last night when he ran into our compartment when the dementors came to our end of the train, wasn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," said Fred, glancing sideways at the Slytherins.

"Wait, when did Draco come into our compartment?" asked Toby.

"After you left," George answered.

"Oh," Toby didn't know what else to say, so she dished up some eggs and sausage for herself. She heard a screech above her only to see a familiar bird land in front of her.

"Sephiroth! I wondered when I was going to see you!" Toby was very happy to see her owl again, but Sephiroth was all business. He stuck his leg out towards her. It had a piece of parchment attached to it.

"For me? Already?" she took the paper from her owl's leg. The note was very short and neatly scrawled,

_Ms. Donato_

_Your sessions with me will be on Sunday mornings at 9 o'clock sharp in my office. Don't be late._

_Prof. Snape_

Toby looked up at the staff table to see Professor Snape staring at her. She gave him a nod of acknowledgment, and put the paper away in her bag.

"But, Hermione," she heard Ron say, "they've got you down for ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time".

"I'll manage. I've worked it all out with Professor McGonagall".

Toby took the opportunity to look over her own schedule. Muggle Studies first at 9 o'clock. She made a mental note of where the classroom was located, and decided to get out her laptop to catch up on the Muggle news.

"Toby?" she heard Ron ask.

"Mm?"

"How are you getting that thing to work?"

Toby rolled her eyes, "See this button, Ron? It's the power button. You press it, and it turns on. That's how you make them work".

"But things like that aren't supposed to work here. The magic interferes with them," Ron said.

"Um, Ron, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to".

Ron turned a bit pink, "Oh. Right".

"People are staring at you," Harry noticed.

Indeed, they were. Toby gave a quick glance around the Great Hall to see that several people were pointing at her and whispering to each other. Even the Slytherins had stopped making fun of Harry to stare at her computer Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she decided to forgo the Muggle news for the time being and just put her laptop away.

"Why do you have that thing anyway?" Fred asked.

"To take notes," she answered.

"That's what parchment is for, dear Tobias," smirked Fred.

"This thing saves trees. I'm helping to stop global warming. What are _you _doing to better the earth, oh wonderful Fredward?"

"I'm not wasting my breakfast," he said, and then stuffed another sausage in his mouth.

Toby felt a nudge at her elbow, and when she looked, Io was looking at her still waiting for something to eat.

"Sorry, girl! I got distracted!" Toby quickly dished up some eggs and sausage on her plate and placed it on the floor, and Io was all too happy to practically inhale the food.

"That's absolutely disgusting," Hermione said under her breath.

"The dog has to eat somehow," Toby retorted.

Hermione glared for a moment, but didn't say anything else.

Ron checked over his schedule again, "We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower. It'll take us ten minutes to get there".

Harry, Ron and Hermione got up from their seats. The boys said goodbye to Toby and headed to class. As they left, another roar of laughter came from the Slytherin table. Toby had enough. She shot up from her seat, almost tipping the bench over. Immediately, she felt Fred grab her by the arm, and try to pull her back down.

"Toby, don't! Do you really want to cause trouble on your first day?" he said frantically.

She wrenched her elbow from his grip, "I won't hurt him...much".

Toby marched straight for the the Slytherin table. Draco's little group quieted down fast.

"What do you want?" Draco snarled at Toby as she approached their table.

Toby gave him an innocently sweet smile, "I couldn't help but notice you making fun my dear friend, Harry. Seems like an odd thing for a Slytherin to do when he himself ran crying into a compartment full of Gryffindors at the first sign of a dementor. Yes, a very un-Slytherin-like thing to do, don't you think?"

Draco gave her a rather impressive scowl. She just smirked.

Jeremy Dolohov, the bully from the night before, was the first to speak, "They shouldn't call you an Electromancer, they should call you an Electrocutioner, you murderer".

That took Toby aback. The snarly-faced girl shrieked with laughter, and all Toby could do for a moment was just stand there feeling shocked. Now it was Draco's turn to smirk, "Struck a nerve, have we? You're pathetic. I bet you're nothing without your powers".

That did it. Toby grabbed Draco by his shirt collar and pulled him in real close. She whispered in a dangerously low tone, "You listen to me, Blondie, and you listen good. I don't need electricity to put you in your place, you selfish, self-centered, hypocritical, cowardly, spoiled brat. You keep that in mind the next time you get the urge to say something about me or my friends," she shoved him backwards and rushed out of the Great Hall without another word. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, she ran up the marble staircase to the first floor and ducked into an empty classroom to regain her composure. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

Once her breathing slowed down and it no longer felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, she, as calmly as she could, walked the rest of the way to the Muggle Studies classroom. There was an empty table in the back, so she grabbed it and took out her laptop again, figuring there really wasn't anything she could do if people wanted to stare.

Just before class started, Toby heard a groan from behind her. She was a little surprised to see Hermione in the doorway. Wasn't she going with Ron and Harry to the North Tower? Toby was also surprised to realize that Hermione was groaning because the only empty seat left in the room was the one next to her. The bushy-haired girl plopped herself down next to Toby with little enthusiasm and pulled out her book for the class.

"I thought you had Divinations," Toby stated.

Hermione didn't look up from her book, "No. I was just walking Ron and Harry there".

Toby rolled her eyes, "That's impossible. Ron said it would take ten minutes to get there, so ten minutes there and ten minutes back wouldn't leave you enough time to get here without being late".

A slight pink tint was starting to appear over Hermione's cheeks, "Well, maybe Ron's time assessment was wrong! Did you think of that? Or maybe I didn't walk the entire way with them. Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions," she spat.

Toby could sense that Hermione was lying to her. The fact that Hermione didn't like Toby probably wasn't helping matters, but it still begged the question: what was she lying about? And why?

Toby didn't get a chance to ask, because the slightly plump, blonde woman at the front of the class, whom Toby guessed was the teacher, decided it was time for class to start.

"Settle down, class! Settle down! I am Professor Burbage. Welcome to Muggle Studies! In this class we will be learning how Muggles are able to function in this world without magic. Let's get started shall we? Now, can anyone tell me what exactly a Muggle is?"

"It's a human being that lacks the ability to perform magic," Hermione declared. She didn't even bother raising her hand.

"Correct! Five points to Gryffindor! So, if a Muggles are unable to perform magic, then how, do you suppose, do they function in our world?"

It was Toby's turn to give an answer, but she was going to raise her hand "Electricity, and other natural resources, and perhaps very active imaginations".

"Excellent! And I'm sure you know all about electricity, Ms. Donato. I've noticed you brought in a Muggle computer with you. They're a NEWT level topic, but would you care to show the class anyway?"

Toby felt her face go hot. She didn't feel like being put in the spotlight, "Um, Professor, I'd really rather not—"

"Oh, don't be silly. Come on! Don't be shy," Professor Burbage encouraged.

Wishing that she could just blend in the background and have a normal class, Toby stood up, grabbed her laptop, and slowly made her way to the front of the classroom where Professor Burbage was beaming at her. She put her computer on the desk, so people could see.

"Um, yeah, this is a computer. It's a specific kind called a laptop, because, yeah, you put it on your lap. Uh, this is the power button. That turns it on. This is the monitor, the keyboard, the volume button, these are USB ports, this is where a compact disc would go. Um, I'm not really sure what else to say".

"How does it work?" asked a girl in the middle row.

"Um, I'm not sure. I know enough about electronics to know _that _they work, but I don't a lot of specifics as to _how _they work. I do know that the inside has something called a motherboard, which has the hard drive and the RAM and the CPU, and connective wiring and such".

Everyone in the classroom was looking at her with the most confused expressions she'd ever seen.

"Don't worry. I don't really know what all that is either,"

"How does it stay on?" another student wanted to know.

"A battery on the underside. It lasts about 3 hours or so".

"What happens after that?"

"I have to recharge it".

"And how do you do that? This castle and most magical places are not outfitted with electricity, Ms. Donato" inquired Professor Burbage.

Toby uncomfortably shuffled where she stood. Showing the process of recharging her computer's battery would involved showing off her powers, and she didn't need people potentially getting the wrong idea about her off the bat.

"Show us. Please," urged Professor Burbage.

Toby walked back to her seat and rummaged through her bag to dig out the power cord she uses to charge her laptop. She walked back up to the desk, plugged the charging end into the computer, and held out her hand. Within moments, the plug on the other end of the charger was floating in midair and a ball of electricity was attaching itself to the prongs on the plug. It glowed and crackled, as electricity usually does. Gasps and oohs came from the mouths of her classmates.

Professor Burbage looked mesmerized at the sight. Toby watched as her teacher reached out a hand, as if to touch the floating ball of lightning.

Toby grabbed the professor's wrist, "Don't touch it. I hear electrical shocks are quite painful, even at low voltages".

Professor Burbage nodded absently, "Right, right".

"Can I sit down now?" Toby asked

The teacher was still looking at the plug in awe, unable to tear her eyes away "My, my, Ms. Donato. You really are something special," she said quietly.

"Um, thanks," Toby said.

She dissipated the electrical ball and caught the plug as it was falling. She took her computer and sat back down in her seat.

Hermione looked thoroughly disgusted with Toby, "I hope you enjoyed showing off".

"If it makes any difference, I didn't. I hate it when things like that happen".

"I'm sure," Hermione said sarcastically.

Toby wanted to say something, but the professor was continuing with the lesson, talking about general things about the Muggle world, and Toby didn't want to cause a scene.

She was very thankful when class was over. She packed up her things and got out as fast as she possibly could. She was heading towards the Transfiguration classroom when she saw Hermione duck into an empty classroom, and Toby thought she'd take her opportunity to confront the brainy girl. However, when she opened the door, she saw Hermione, small hour glass in hand, disappearing.

_Holy crap! A time turner! Well, **that** explains how she got from the North Tower to the first floor. I wonder where she got it._

Knowing she couldn't confront Hermione when Hermione wasn't there, she headed over to Transfigurations instead. She was happy to see a seat next to Harry, so she sat down next to him.

She turned to him to ask how Divinations had gone, but she noticed that he looked really pale, "Harry, what happened?"

Ron was sitting in front of them. He turned around and whispered, "Our Divinations professor predicted Harry's going to die sometime this year".

"That's so stupid. Why would a professor do that? Divinations is so inexact anyway. You can't take that seriously".

Harry didn't say anything. Neither did anyone else who had been in Divinations with Harry. Professor McGonagall started the lesson. She talked about Animagi, about how they're witches and wizards who can transform themselves into animals. Then she suddenly changed into a cat with markings around her eyes that resembled glasses. It startled Toby, but no one else reacted. Not at all.

Once Professor McGonagall transformed back into her normal self, she looked at the class, surprised, "Really, what has got into you all today?"

Hermione raised her hand, "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and—"

"Of course. There's no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

"Me," said Harry.

"I see. Then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one studen a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues—"

"You'd say she was a crack pot?" Toby asked with a smile.

Professor McGonagall gave Toby a very pointed look, but Toby could have sworn there was a slight twinkle in the aged professor's eyes, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney—"

"Sounds like a whack job to me," Toby said under her breath.

"Thank you, Ms. Donato, I think we all get your point. Potter, you look in excellent health to me, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in".

Toby couldn't help but laugh, and was glad to see Harry relax a bit. Professor McGonagall seemed like a sensible, realistic person, but with a good sense of humor. The rest of the lesson carried on as normal. Toby was relieved that no one mentioned her computer or her abilities. When class was over, she walked with Harry, Ron and Hermione to the Great Hall for lunch. She sat down next to Lee Jordan, across from Fred and George, and dished up some stew for herself.

George beamed at her, "So, Toby, how's your first day of class going?"

"Fine".

"Just fine?" Fred asked.

"Muggle Studies could have gone better".

"What happened?" questioned George.

"I was put on the spot. Professor Burbage wanted me to show my computer to everyone and then she made me show off my powers in front of the whole class. It was embarrassing. I'm not a dancing monkey".

"Really? You look like one," smirked Fred.

Toby responded by throwing a carrot at his head.

"I would like one day, just one day, where the fact that I'm an Electromancer doesn't come up in conversation".

"It's not likely," Lee said, snarfing down his stew, "there is no other person on the earth who is like you: an Electromancer and a witch. It gets people's attention".

"I'm well aware, Lee. Thanks for reminding me".

"My pleasure," he smiled at her.

Toby let out a sigh and took out her computer to organize her notes and start working on her homework.

"What exactly can you do with that thing?" Lee asked her.

"Well, um, lots of things. There are different programs that do different things. I use a word processor to type up notes and class papers, I have a program that plays music and organizes photos, I think there are some games on here too somewhere".

"Sounds too fancy and complicated for a bloke like me".

"It's really not that hard once you get the hang of it".

"Yes, well, I'll leave the shiny technology to your expertise".

Toby just shrugged her shoulders, and continued to work. The _ticketa-ticketa-ticketa_ of her typing sort of lulled her into a trance as she did her homework until she noticed it was getting close to the time her next class was going to start. Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, the giant of a man she'd met the night before.

She closed up her laptop and put it back in her bag, "Well, gentlemen, I need to head to my next class. See you later!"

"See you!" the twins shouted.

She headed out of the castle, making her way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where Hagrid's hut was. She quickly spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione, and was disappointed to see that they were having class with the Slytherins. Her eye caught Draco's, and he gave her a very scathing look. She just smiled and kept walking.

Hagrid was waiting for them in front of his hut, and Toby could tell by the look on his face that he was excited to start the lesson.

"C'mon, now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

The class followed Hagrid along the edge of the forest, and after a few minutes, they came upon an empty paddock. Toby wondered if the lesson was on invisible creatures, but then Hagrid called out, "Everyone gather 'round the fence here! That's it—make sure yeh can see—now firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books–"

"How?" Toby heard Draco sneer as she was pulling her book out of her bag. She'd magically bound it shut with one of her custom spells.

"Eh?" Hagrid asked.

"How do we open our books?" as much as Toby didn't like Malfoy, it was a valid question.

"Hasn'—hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagred asked. He looked disappointed.

Everyone in the class, Toby included, shook their heads.

Hagrid had an expression of exasperation, "Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," he said like they should have known. He grabbed Hermione's book to show them. He ran one of his huge fingers down the spine of the book, and it fell open in his hands.

Malfoy got the most sarcastic look on his face and snarled, "Oh, how silly we've all been! We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess?"

_Good God. Doesn't that boy do anything other than complain?_ Toby thought.

"I thought they were funny," Hagrid said to Hermione as if it was justification.

"You could have at least put a note on our supplies list letting us know how to handle them. It would have been helpful," Toby suggested.

Hagrid looked like he was losing confidence by the second, and Toby felt bad, "Look, it's ok. It's your first year teaching, isn't it? Just keep that in mind for next year".

"Righ then," said Hagrid, seeming to have lost all his enthusiasm, "so—so yeh've got yer books an'--an'--now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on".

He bumbled out of sight into the forest. Toby still felt bad for him. Maybe she should have just kept her nouth shut.

Malfoy took the opportunity to take advantage of Hagrid's absence, "God, this place is going to the dogs. That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him—"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you—"

"Your mom's a dementor," Toby said with a smirk, hoping to shut the boy up.

"What did you say, Donato? What did you say about my mother?" his face was contorting with rage.

"I said she was a dementor. You know, those things that suck happiness out of everything they come across?".

"Don't you ever talk about my mother, Donato! Do you hear me?"

"What are you gonna do about it, Blondie?" asked Toby. She heard Ron snort behind her at her nickname for Malfoy.

Draco lunged at her. Toby waved her hand casting a spell that gave the blonde boy a forceful push backwards. He stumbled for a few steps and then regained his footing. The look on his face suggested that he wanted to tear Toby apart, but he didn't advance.

"That's what I thought," Toby said.

"Oooooh! Look!" said Lavender Brown, one Toby's roommates, as she pointed at the other end of the paddock. Hagrid was leading a group of about a dozen or so Hippogriffs. Toby had seen them before at her old school. They were beautiful, with the back end of horses and front end of eagles. Toby was a little concerned because they were pretty dangerous, especially for third year students. As the Hippogriffs drew closer to the fence, her classmates drew back.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid announced to the class, "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Toby thought so. She'd wanted to see them up close back home, but the magical creature class in America was taught to older students.

"So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer—"

No one did, but Toby wasn't afraid. She was pretty good with animals for the most part, so she approached the fence along with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Toby saw that Hagrid had an appreciative grin on his face.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do".

With the size of the talons on their front legs, Toby couldn't imagine why anyone would want to.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him, 'cause those talons hurt," he looked at the class expectantly, "Right—who wants ter go first?"

Again, no one moved or said anything.

"No one?" Hagrid asked pleadingly.

Toby was about to volunteer, but then Harry said "I'll do it".

She heard a little squeak from behind her and a whispered, "Oh, no, Harry, remember your tea leaves!"

Harry didn't seem to have heard them as he climbed over the fencing and into the paddock.

"Good man, Harry! Right then—let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak".

Hagrid untied the gray hippogriff from the rest of the herd and backed away. Toby held her breath, hoping the creature wouldn't hurt Harry. She didn't know why, but she felt a deep, deep concern for Harry's safety. More so than if it was Ron or Fred or George. Toby tried to push the thought out of her mind.

Hagrid was attempting to walk Harry through the steps of gaining the trust of Buckbeak, "Easy, now, Harry. Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink...hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."

Toby watched as the hippogriff stared Harry down with one if its fluorescent orange eyes.

"Tha's it, Harry...now, bow,"

Slowly Harry, bowed. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a _Diffindo _spell.

Toby felt her stomach drop when Buckbeak didn't bow back, but after a few tense moments, the hippogriff slowly sank its knees into a bow.

The whole class let out its collective breath. Hagrid looked relieved, "Well done, Harry! Right—yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry looked as if he'd rather get as far away as possible, but approached Buckbeak and gently patted the hippogriff's beak.

"Righ' then, Harry, I reckon he might let yeh ride him!"

Harry looked at Hagrid in surprise, but before anyone could say anything, Hagrid had lifted Harry onto Buckbeak's back, and smack his back end. Buckbeak unfolded his wings, and within a few flaps, was airborne, Harry clinging desperately to its neck. Riding on a hippogriff didn't look like a pleasant experience, and Toby decided that she would decline if ever offered.

Buckbeak circled Harry around the paddock a few times and then landed. Everyone except Draco and his friends cheered when Harry dismounted.

"Good work, Harry! Okay, who else wants a go?" Hagrid asked the class.

The rest of the class entered the paddock to try their hands with the hippogriffs. Toby decided she wanted to work with Buckbeak and cautiously approached him. She was quite surprised when Buckbeak immediately bowed and approached _her_. She patted his beak and stoked the feathers on his face with the back of her hand.

"Oh, look Donato! It likes you! How precious!" Malfoy sneered. He bowed to Buckbeak, and surprisingly, the hippogriff bowed back. Draco walked up disdainfully.

"This is so easy," he said loudly, "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it...I bet you're not dangerous at all are you, you ugly great brute?"

It happened so suddenly, Toby barely had time to react. As soon as the words left Draco's mouth, Buckbeak reared up on his hind legs, ready to strike. Acting purely on instinct, Toby put up a shield around herself and tried to put one up around Draco, but she misjudged how far away he was from her, and instead of the shield going around him, it hit him and he was thrown to the side a good twenty feet, and landed on his elbow with a sickening crunch.

Toby's stomach dropped for the second time that day. _Oh, no_.

Malfoy was on the ground, writhing in pain, clutching his arm, "I'm dying! Look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid shouted, going pale, "Someone help me—gotta get him outta here—" He lifted Malfoy into his arms and ran for the castle. Toby and the rest of the class followed. All of the Slytherins started to shout about Hagrid and Toby.

"They should fire him straight away!" shouted the snarly faced girl, whom Toby had learned was named Pansy.

"They should expel her!" another one of them shouted, pointing at Toby.

"I didn't mean to make him go flying! It was an accident!" Toby shouted back.

"It wasn't Hagrid's fault or Toby's fault!" yelled Harry, coming quickly to Toby's defense. She was grateful for the effort.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" said Dean, another boy from Gryffindor.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" said Pansy as she ran up the marble staircase.

The group started to disperse to their respective houses, but Toby fell back, wanting to just disappear. Once everyone was out of sight, she made a mad dash for the library.

However, as she was on her way, she was interrupted by Peeves the poltergeist. Fred and George had told her about him about how he was always causing trouble and general mayhem around the castle.

"What have we here? An ickle firstie!" the little man was bouncing around the hallway, keeping Toby from passing.

Desperately wanting to get out of the hallway and into a quiet place to hide, Toby waved her hand, smashing Peeves into the wall, "I am _**so **_not in the mood right now" she said as she continued jogging to the library. She could hear the poltergeist cuss and call her a few rude names, but Toby didn't stop.

She was so relieved when she made it to the fourth floor and into the library. She found an empty table in the back, away from prying eyes. She took out her computer and her Transfiguration book and decided to start working on her homework.

"Toby? Mind if I join you?" Toby looked up from her work to see Daniel standing in front of her.

"Daniel! Hi! Um, sure, you can join me," she gestured for him to sit, which he did.

"How's your day going?" she asked him.

"Excellent! I think I'm really going to like being a wizard," he said excitedly.

"That's good," Toby said.

"What about you? How did your day go?"

"Bad".

He frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"

"I epically failed at life. That's what happened".

"It can't be that bad".

"I'm the reason someone in my class is in the hospital with a broken or dislocated elbow".

"Oh".

"Yeah".

"How did you manage that?"

"He insulted a hippogriff and it tried to attack him and I tried to put up a shield around him and myself because I was standing right next to him, but I missed and the shield pushed him, and now I'm hiding".

"You can't hide forever," Daniel said.

"Sure I can," Toby grumbled.

He sighed and went back to doing his own homework. They sat in silence working for a while, and Toby started getting lost in the ticking of her keyboard keys again.

Daniel decided to break the quiet, "What's America like?" he asked.

Toby thought about it for a minute, then answered, "It depends where you go".

"What's it like where you're from?"

"Wisconsin is generally pretty laid back. There are lots of dairy farms and breweries. The summers are pretty warm, the winters are ridiculously cold, and I miss it sometimes".

Daniel didn't say anything for a while. He just continued reading his Charms book. After some time had passed, he looked at his watch and said "It's nearly dinner time".

"I'm not gonna go. I'm not hungry".

Daniel nodded and gathered his things, "See you later, Toby. Don't feel so bad. It wasn't your fault. You were trying to help," and he walked out of the library.

Once he was out of sight, Toby put away her own things and headed back to the Gryffindor common room.

She was quite surprised, though, to see Professor McGonagall standing in the room.

"Hello, Ms. Donato. I need to speak with you about what happened in your Care of Magical Creatures lesson today," she said in a very serious voice.

"I swear, it was an accident. Malfoy insulted the hippogriff, exactly what Hagrid told us _**not **_to do, and it attacked him. I was standing right there and tried to put a shield up, but I missed".

Professor McGonagall nodded, "I assumed as much. Mr. Malfoy is giving a very different story. Not about you, but about the hippogriff".

"Oh. Okay. So, is that it?"

"Yes, that is all, Ms. Donato. You're free to go to dinner now, if you wish".

"Actually, I'm not hungry. I think I'll just stay here for the rest of the night".

"Very well. Good night, then, Ms. Donato".

"Good night, Professor".

With that, Professor McGonagall left the common room.

Toby let out an exasperated sigh and collapsed on the couch in front of the fire. She just wanted this day to be over. Needing a way to pass the time, she took her laptop and her ear buds out of her bag and decided to relax by listening to some music. She brought up iTunes on her computer and put it on shuffle, closing her eyes and trying to forget the day's events.

It didn't seem like that much time had passed before she could hear voices over the sound of the music in her ears. People must have been finished with dinner and coming back to the common room. The members of her house were giving her strange looks as they walked by, but Toby tried to pay them no mind as she listened to her was aware of two bodies sitting themselves on either side of her, and she correctly guessed that it was Fred and George.

"We heard about what you did in Care of Magical Creatures today, Toby," George said just as she was pulling the ear buds out of her ears.

"Yeah, and we think it's brilliant!" said Fred.

"It was an accident," Toby said, she was getting sick of having to say that.

"If you say so," smirked Fred.

"That's my story, and I'm sticking to it".

"Either way, the little git deserved it," George commented.

"Indeed," Fred agreed.

"Look, I don't want to discuss it. At all. I had a bad day and I would just like to forget it ever happened. Okay?"

"Okay, okay. Don't get your knickers in a twist".

"What are you doing on this computer thing now anyway? You use it an awful lot," George leaned in to look at what she was doing, and Toby felt her heart skip a beat.

"Just listening to music. It helps me relax".

"What were you listening to?"

"Jimmy Buffett".

"Who's that?"

"Muggle singer. He sings tropical, island-y, reggae, country stuff. It usually makes me feel better when I've had a bad day".

"Can we listen?"

"Sure, I guess. I hope no one else minds," she pulled the ear buds out of the headphone jack in the computer, and restarted the song she was listening to.

_Nibblin' on spongecake_

_watchin' the sun bake_

_all of those tourists covered with oil_

_Strummin' my six-string_

_on my front porch swing_

_smell those shrimp, they're begginin' to boil_

_Wastin' away again in Margaritaville_

_Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt_

_Some people claim that there's a woman to blame_

_But I know it's nobody's fault_

Toby couldn't help but smile at the lyrics. This kind of music always made her smile. The song eventually ended, and Toby just let it continue on through her playlist. Gazing into the fire with her music playing and Fred and George sitting with her, the anxiety of the day's events started to leave her, and she figured that the situation would die down. Things couldn't get any worse than what happened today. Could they?

**A/N: I have a very important question that may or may not have some bearing on what happens later in the story. In the UK, when someone is appointed as a godparent, does their spouse become the other godparent? JK Rowling was asked if Harry had a godmother, and her response was no because Sirius never settled down with anyone. If anyone could answer this for me, I'd deeply be appreciative. :)**


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